Mesoa League: The Ultimate Challenge
by KratosTheGodofWar
Summary: Ash has won the Unova League and returns home to find all of his old friends waiting for him. Just before they can begin the celebration, a mysterious man, who's apparently been keeping tabs on Ash, and many others, arrives and offers him the chance to compete in Mesoa. There, it's a whole new adventure, new Pokemon, New rules... Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, it's me, A.M.P 1008. So, I've had this idea for a Pokémon tournament for a while, and since I've been reading a lot of them for a while, I figured I'd give it a try myself. So, unlike other tournaments, this is an actual league, but here, everything changes. The rules are completely different from the other regions, as Ash and his friends will discover. I will be accepting OCs until a set number of chapters. Details of submission will be posted at the bottom of the chapter.**

**So, without further ado, here's chapter one of the Mesoa League: the Ultimate Challenge**

**Summary: It's been over 20 years since the Mesoa Region decided to make contact with the outside world. After observing the feats of Ash, and many others, they've decided to reopen the Mesoa league. Here, it a new challenge, new Pokémon, new rules…**

* * *

_Prologue: Unova Finals Conclusion! News of Mesoa Revealed_

"Welcome one and all to the Unova League finals!" yelled the announcer

At that, everyone in the stadium, filled with thousands of spectators, cheered with excitement.

"This has been an exciting match so far folks. Here on one side, from Nuvema Town, is Trip. On the other side is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. Both trainers have shown an incredible combination of skill, and whit. It all comes down to this. Both trainers are left with one Pokémon each. So, let's get this final match under way!"

Within the stands were four spectators that were watching intently on Ash's battles. One of them was wearing a suit that looked like a bartender's suit. He had green hair and had a green tie. Beside him was a green monkey with a thorny tail, and what appeared to be pants made up of thorns, and some leaves. Said monkey also had a briar on its head, pointing forward. They were known as Cilan and Simisage

Next to them was a dark skinned girl with purple hair, which was mostly in a crazy style, save for the pig tails and the small knot at the bottom. Sitting near her was a small, bipedal dragon with long tusk-like fangs and was mostly gray in color. It had green hands and a green head, which looked more like armor. It also had red, menacing eyes. Despite this though, it was still as playful as it was when it was an Axew. Those two were Iris and Fraxure respectively.

"Ash sure has come a long way, hasn't he?" said Cilan

"Yeah, he has. It's still amazing that he was that same "little kid" from before." said Iris

"Now, now Iris. We're both here to support him. This is one of the biggest matches he's had throughout his journey."

It was true though, what they both said. Despite being 15 years old, he was still pretty dense when it came to things like girls. Though he has greatly matured in the time he's been within Unova, and now, he was in the finals, facing his Unova rival, Trip.

Being on his first journey, Trip developed quite the arrogant streak. Even though he had studied up everything on Pokémon in the Unova region, and beaten Ash a few times, he believed he was the strongest. That type of thinking lead to too many defeats, but it didn't change his attitude all that much. Now that there was a chance that he may lose to someone from the "boonies", he was actually worried about this final battle. It was all or nothing for both of them now…

"Alright, Pikachu, you ready to win this one?" Ash asked his faithful partner

"Pika Pikapi Pikachu!" he replied with determination

"Go, Serperior!" Trip called out his final, and most powerful, Pokémon. His starter choice, which was a Snivy.

"Both sides ready? Battle begin!" said the referee

"Okay then, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Pikachuuuuuuuuuuu!"

"Serperior, counter with Leaf Tornado!"

"Serrrrrrpeeerriorrr!" the grass snake shouted, spinning its own body before sending a barrage of leaves at the Mouse Pokémon. Both attacks met head on, which resulted in an explosion

"Both Pokémon are starting out strong. It's anyone's guess on who will win the championship!" announced the announcer.

* * *

Near the Exit way, hidden from all, someone was watching, and recording the battle. He had been doing this since the beginning of the Unova Pokémon League tournament. The person in question was wearing a very loose black hoddie and dark pants. Underneath the hooded sweatshirt was a red colored T-shirt. His black hair had a just-got-out-of-bed look to it, but it didn't matter to him. Barely anyone made a comment on it, and when they did, he brushed it off. He also had blood red eyes. He wore a constant smirk which meant a lot of things; trouble, a plan, secrets, etc. (Though it was mostly trouble) It was none other than Daisuke Johnson, a well known trouble maker. (To the professors and Pokémon league) Why he was here recording the battle was anyone's guess, but they'd never get it correct

Beside him was a Pokémon that resembled a saber-tooth tiger that had a purple mane in the shape of a thundercloud. Its body was mostly yellow, but it did have black, lightning bolt shapes. Its tail was thin and bended in the shape of a lightning bolt, with a spark formation on the end. It had a white underbelly. It was the legendary beast of Johto, Raikou.

In the hoodie looking at the battle was a large, mainly bluish-purple vampire bat-like Pokémon. It has more defined legs compared to its pre-evolved form. It has two toes and a slightly darker circular coloration on the underside, its tail has two barbs, giving its tail the resemblance of vampire's fangs. Its arms were red with thin striations, and are also completely detached from its wings, which are black in coloration. It has similar looking pincers to Scizor. Its ears are discernible, red-colored and apparently chambered ear insides. Its eyes are yellow. It has six visible fangs in its mouth, and its waist, like its arms, is red and striated. Its body resembles an open mouth, with the pointed protrusions coming from its upper torso appearing to be fangs, further illustrating its vampiric qualities. It was his partner in crime, Gliscor.

"Wait until the officials see this. I think we have all the competitors ready for the League." Daisuke said with glee.

"Gli Gli Gliscor!" his companion said with equal enthusiasm

Raikou grunted and roared a little, but not enough for anyone to notice

"I know you want to back home and see Maria again, Raikou. Just a few more minutes, and were done here. You can return home, and I'll get this to the officials when I come back on the boat."

Just as he said that, an Electro Ball smacked the snake right on the head, the force of the attack making up for the fact it was an electric type attack.

"He'll feel that one in the morning."

"Gliscor." The bat like companion said in agreement

Raikou just huffed

* * *

Back on the battle field, both Pokémon were completely exhausted. Strike after strike, move after move, it tired them out. It all came down to this

"Well Trip, what'ya say? Wanna finish this one attack?" asked Ash

"It's your funeral, hillbilly!"

Ash just grunted in frustration, tired of Trip's insults.

"Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!"

"Pika-pika-pika-pika-pika-pikaaaaaa!" The mouse ran to its green opponent, cloaked in electricity

"Serperior, Giga Impact now!"

"Serrrrrrrrr!" it shouted, covered in a familiar purple and gold energy, and charged at its small, mouse opponent. They met head on, both trying to push the other back. When nothing happened, the colliding bodies of energy caused a humongous explosion, which covered the field in a layer of smoke for about 20 seconds. To everyone else, it felt like 20 minutes. When it cleared, it showed Serperior knocked out, and Pikachu still standing….

"Serperior is unable to battle! Pikachu wins; and this match goes to Ash, winner of the Unova League!"

The crowd roared in approval of this amazing battle, some more so at the victor, namely Iris and Cilan.

"He won! He actually won!" Iris shouted with excitement

"Fraxure Fraxure!"

"This battle truly had the perfect mixture passionate flavors and spicy determination. A perfect blend for an exciting dish." Said Cilan

"Simisage Simi." Agreed the Thorn Monkey

It took Ash a few seconds to comprehend it, but he won. He had finally won. After five years of traveling, he won the Pokémon League.

"I…won." Ash mumbled "I won the Unova League." He spoke a little louder. "I WON!" he shouted with joy, finally processing it all. "Pikachu, we did it buddy! We won the Unova League. I can't believe it, but we finally won!"

"Pi Pikachu!" the yellow partner said with equal joy, then collapsed, spent of its energy

"Don't worry, I'll get you and the others to the Pokémon center for a good rest."

"Ash!" shouted his two companions

"Hey Iris, Cilan."

"Ash, that was incredible! You finally defeated Trip and won the Unova League!"

"It was without a doubt the most flavorful battle I've witnessed in a long time"

"Thanks you two"

* * *

TIMESKIP

After the award ceremony, Ash, Cilan, and Iris decided to travel a little bit longer, taking the long way back to their respective homes

"I guess this is it, isn't it?" Ash asked with sadness

"Don't worry Ash. I'm sure we'll all see each other again soon" said Cilan

"Yeah, your right, I guess…"

"We will see each other again, I'm sure of it!" said Iris with a determined spark

Ash just nodded at the fact that they will meet again, someday. Then, the boat departing for Vermillion City arrived.

"Well, goodbye guys. I'll miss you both."

"The same with me." Spoke Cilan

"Me too." Said Iris

Ash then boarded the ship destined for his native region. Before he got on the boat, he requested that Professor Juniper give him all the Pokémon he caught while in Unova. Pikachu was already fast asleep, while Ash kept looking at something. It was, to him, a reminder of one of his past journeys with another close friend, who, over time, became more to him. Sadly, he never told her because he never did understand what love was. Now, when he returned home, he would confess, and hope she would return his feelings for her

'_When I get back, I'll tell her everything. I'll tell her my feelings for her. I just hope things don't turn out badly. Worst case scenario, she won't want to be near me. No! I can't let that happen. I have to face this head on with positive thinking!'_

Feeling exhausted, he allowed sleep to claim him. In the morning, he would be back in Pallet Town

* * *

After docking off in Vermillion City (and sending back his Unova Pokémon to Professor Oak), Ash started walking towards the shortest path that would lead him home. After 10 minutes, he came across the same hill that gave a great view of the little town.

"There it is! Race ya back to mom's house!"

"Pikachu!" replied the small mouse

Just as they were about to take off, they fell in the familiar pitfall trap.

"Ow. That hurt. You okay buddy?"

"Pika."

Suddenly, a mechanical arm with a rubber glove extended out and grabbed Pikachu. After retracting, Ash saw, yet again, the trio that's been causing him nothing but trouble for the past 5 years. Team Rocket members Jessie, James, and Meowth. The trio laughed at their success of trapping the "twerp" in another pitfall, and snagging Pikachu.

"We'd love to stay and chat twiop, but we've got somewhere to be!" spoke the talking Meowth

"Eh?! No motto?" asked James

"We're not Team Rocket without our motto!" exclaimed Jessie

"Yeah, but da author promised to cut us some slack if we skip the motto for a while." Said Meowth

"The nerve of that author!" exclaimed Jessie

"Do we have a choice?" asked James sarcastically. "Our own producers never give us a break, so this may wind up being better."

"If you three clowns are done talking, I'd like Pikachu back now!" spoke Ash, who managed to get out of the pitfall trap.

"Not a chance! Go, Swoobat!" exclaimed Jessie

"Go, Cofagrigus!" James shouted

With both Pokémon out, Ash realized he was in a tough situation. He had sent all of Unova Pokémon to Professor Oak, not thinking he would run into trouble he couldn't handle without Pikachu

"Need a little help, kid?" asked a new voice

Ash looked over to see someone who he never met before. The stranger was wearing dark clothes, had messy hair, and had blood red eyes. He looked a little closer, and he could see a Gliscor in the hoodie.

"Who are you!?" demanded Jessie

"Daisuke Johnson, at your service." The stranger identified himself as. For whatever reason, the way he spoke made everyone uneasy, and the smirk didn't help. In fact, it made things worse

"Well den, if tat's true, den get lost!" shouted Meowth

"Well well, a talking Pokémon? You don't see a lot of them anywhere really. Sadly, it'd be more impressive if you were actually scary."

"What did you say!?"

"I don't believe I stuttered, did I?"

"Gli Scor" his companion replied, shaking no

"How about you all leave now, and leave the Pikachu behind. If you don't, I can't guarantee your safety."

The stranger was scaring the trio by the word. For whatever reason, they couldn't help but feel fear. Whoever, whatever this guy was, it made everyone uneasy. They were too stunned to even make a response…

"Your silence tells me that you refuse to cooperate with me. Since we can't reach a middle ground…"

He then reached into the hooded sweatshirt and pulled out a pokeball

"Go, Tyranitar!"

From the pokeball emerged a Tyranitar that was way bigger than normal for its species. Across its body were several scars collected from the harsh battles and training it had to endure to come this far. On its hands, legs, tail, and neck were what appeared to be weights.

"Tyranitar, Thunder!"

With a loud roar, the Psuedo-Legendary sent a huge burst of electricity at the trio, destroying the arm and releasing Pikachu in the process. The blast also resulted in Team Rocket being blasted off, yet again.

"Oh come on, I tought we was gonna get a break from tis?!" shouted Meowth

"You said so yourself, the author would do so later in the story, but now, we're stuck with the same routine" replied James

"When I find that twerp responsible for this, I'll…" Jessie never got to finish, for a bolt of lightning came from the clouds, and sent them straight for the clouds without further delay.

"We're blasting off again!" shouted the trio

"Phew, looks like we won't see them for a while. You okay buddy?" asked Ash

"Pika!"

"Glad to hear."

"Looks like I came at the right time." Spoke Daisuke

"Yeah, I owe you one. My name's…"

"Ash" he replied

"Huh, you know who I am?"

"But of course. I was in the stands in the Unova League, along with every other competition you've entered."

"Huh?" asked a confused Ash

"I'll explain later. How's about I come with you to Professor Oak's, just in case more trouble occurs."

"How'd you know I was heading over there?"

"It's because I was on my way there myself, when I ran into those little jokesters from before."

"I don't mind you tagging along, but I need to make a quick trip to my house to say hi to my mom."

"Do what you want, it doesn't really concern me. How's about I'll meet you there instead. In a small little town like this, you see trouble less often than a Lugia."

"Sure!"

"Tyranitar, return."

Ash couldn't help but wonder about the scars, whether it was due to the trainer, or other Pokemon, he didn't know.

* * *

So, as the two went their separate ways, Ash eventually made it to his house without incident. As he dropped his bag on the couch, he noticed no one was around. Not even Mimey, the Mr. Mime who did most of the chores around the house, was present

"Mom? You home"

"Pika pika?"

"I guess no one's here" said Ash as he went to the kitchen. He noticed a note on the refrigerator

_Hi honey_

_I'm over at Prof. Oak's right now. I knew you were coming home today, so I went over there to help plan something special for your victory in the Unova League. Come by as soon as possible_

_Love,_

_Mom_

'_A surprise at Professor Oak's? I wonder what it is.'_ Thought Ash

"Well, let's head over to Professor Oak's then."

"Pika" replied the yellow rodent

As they entered Professor Oak's place, they ran into an old friend from their journey, May

"Hey May!" said an enthusiastic Ash

"Hey there Ash!" she replied with equal enthusiasm

They ran up to each other and hugged, glad to see their old friend again. After a few seconds, they had realized they hadn't let go, and did so, both sporting red on their faces as well

"Sorry about that." Said May

"No problem. It was sort of my fault too." Ash replied, rubbing the back of his head while giving a nervous chuckle

"So, what are you doing in Kanto anyways."

"I came by to help with a little surprise for you at Professor Oak's."

"Well let's go then!" said a once again enthusiastic Ash

When they reached the lab and entered, Ash was surprised that it was empty. No Oak, no Tracy, no Mom. None of his Pokemon were there either. Not even his lovable Muk was there to smother him with one of its hugs.

"Hello? Anyone here?" asked Ash

"Huh, that's weird." said May. If you looked closely, you could see her restraining a giggle or two by closing her mouth with her hands. Pikachu looked at her with a confused look on his face. Her reply was to nod her head to the door which lead to the PokeCorral. Pikachu got the message and didn't say a thing.

After Ash ran around the whole lab, finding nothing, he sat down on the couch. He spent all his energy running around trying to find everyone

"Man…where is everyone?" Ash panted

May's reply was to walk towards the door mentioned before, and motioned him to go to her. He did so, and when he walked out, he was quite surprised to see who was there.

It was his mom, Professor Oak, Gary, his former rival and now friend, Tracy, Brock, Misty, Dawn, Max, and to top it all off, May, who walked over to the crowd.

"CONGRADULATIONS ASH AND PIKACHU!" they all shouted at the same time

"Wow! This is incredible. Thanks everyone." Ash said with appreciation

"You should be thanking May. She did organize this whole thing. All we did was give a little helping hand." Said Professor Oak

"May, is this true?"

"Well, yeah. It sort of is." Replied May, who was sporting a little pink on her face from the attention Ash was giving her

"Wow, thank you May. It means a lot. Really." said a sincere Ash. "When did you plan all of this?"

"It was actually while you were in the Unova League. May was watching and came up with a plan." Said Brock

* * *

Flashback

"Zebstrika is unable to battle! Scrafty wins! The match goes to Ash!" announced the referee

"What an amazing match folks! Stephan and Ash have been giving it their all since the beginning of this match! It's actually a bit of a shame it had to end." said the announcer over the mic.

"My name is Stephan!" shouted said trainer, getting more and more annoyed with each mess up over the pronouncing of his name

"Hey, great battle out there. We definitely need to battle again" Said Ash

"Yeah, we do, but, I'll be the winner next time." Stephan replied

The crowd roared in approval as the two rivals shook hands and walked off the stage

'_Wow, Ash has really improved since I last saw him at the Wallace Cup.'_ Thought May, as she saw Ash claim his spot in the finals

Then, the phone started to ring

"I'll get it." Said May (they had gone into a commercial break at that point)

"Hello?"

"Hey May!" responded a familiar voice

"Brock! It's so good to hear from you" replied Mqay

"Same here. Are you watching Ash in the Unova League?"

"Yeah. It's amazing how strong he's become since the last time either of us saw him."

"We should do something for him, for when he returns home, you know?"

"Yeah, but what?"

"Do you have any ideas?"

"Well…we could throw him a big welcoming party! We could invite everyone and hold it in the field. We can even see if we can find some of Ash's old Pokémon!"

"That's a great idea, May! We should be able to get it all set up before he gets back."

"Then let's get started on it."

Needless to say, they had everything arranged before Ash had even boarded the boat to Vermillion.

* * *

"We're not the only one's here you know. Come on out everyone!" shouted Gary

All at once, Ash's Muk, 30 Tauros, Kingler, Bulbasaur, Snorlax, Totodile, Quilava, Bayleef, shiny Noctowl, Donphan, Heracross (who wasn't, for once, trying to suck out Bulbasaur's sap) Torkoal (who was crying for joy and blowing smoke) Swellow, Glalie, Sceptile, Corphish, Torterra, Infernape, Staraptor, Buizel, Gible, Emboar, Scrafty, Samurott, Serperior, Unfezant, Krookodile (who was still sporting his sunglasses) Leavanny, Seismitoad, and Gigalith. What was even more surprising than that were the Pokémon that were in the back

It was his Squirtle, Charizard, Pidgeot, who he had left to protect all the Pidgey and Pidgeotto. Lapras; who he had released so it could be with its herd. Larvitar, who he had befriended and helped during their small journey together, Butterfree and its mate, Primeape, who was left to train under Anthony, Gliscor, and Hauntar; who had helped Sabrina when she was dealing with emotional troubles. Standing in the center of all of them were Iris and Cilan, who were amazed at the sheer number of Pokemon that Ash had.

"Iris! Cilan! Why are you two here?"

"Is that what we get after we went through the trouble of coming here?! "No, hey I missed you?" No, it's great to see you two again?!" You've got some nerve!" said an irate Iris

"Now, now, simmer down. We came here to surprise you Ash. Dawn gave us a call, and we came as soon as possible."

"We actually thought that you were gonna beat us here." Said Iris

"I may have actually done so, if I didn't run into Team Rocket again." Replied Ash

"Team Rocket is still after Pikachu?" asked Max

"They never learn, do they?" said Misty in an exaggerated tone

"It couldn't have been that hard, since you got Pikachu back, even when you had no pokemon." Said Dawn

"Actually, they almost got away with it, but someone came along and helped out. Actually, he said that he had business here." Said Ash

"Who was it?" asked Professor Oak

"Well why don't you just ask me, since I'm right here." Said an unknown voice

Everyone turned to the source, and it was Daisuke. For some reason though, Professor Oak looked really nervous

"So who are you?" asked Delia

"It's Daisuke Johnson, miss, at your service." He replied

Everyone suddenly felt a shudder at how he introduced himself

"What are you doing here?!" Professor Oak yelled at Daisuke

"My my. You certainly are hospitable to me professor, Even though I gave my helping hand to one your top trainers." He replied

"Nothing good ever happens when you show up!"

"We both know that's not true. Didn't Ash just say I helped him out?"

"You never "help" someone unless it can benefit you"

"I will give you that one, Samuel."

"Professor Oak, do you know him?" asked Ash

"Yes, I do. It all started over 50 years ago. At that time, there was this region known as Mesoa. Mesoa had become one of the wealthiest, and most powerful, regions in existence. The other 5 regions wanted to trade for a number of reasons, the Top 2 being resources and Pokémon."

"What do you mean, grandpa?" asked Gary

"Mesoa is filled with Pokemon that you'll never find in any of the other 5 regions. It also has Pokémon from all the other 5 regions too. It's also filled with many natural resources, such as fertile soil, and evolutionary stones. The crops that are grown there require certain climates that can't be satisfied anywhere else." Replied Professor Oak

"What does that have to do with right now?" asked Max

"I'll explain. You see, at that point, Mesoa had little contact with the outside world, having everything right there. They wanted to gain the knowledge and beliefs of the other regions, so they agreed to trade. It went well for all about 10 years, but then…" paused Daisuke

"But then what?" asked Brock

"The other regions were growing greedier by the day. Pokemon were being captured by the second. Soon, even our resources were running low. They had attempted to take what was ours, so we took our revenge. We forced them all to release their Pokémon and drop whatever resources they had with them. Naturally, many objected, so we decided to execute those who refused."

"That's horrible! How could you do something like that?!" shouted Iris in disapproval

"They shouldn't have caused it to go that far. They took what they wanted without any regard for what we wanted, so we decided to deliver justice. No one was against it. Even the Pokémon demanded it. Many of them were the executioners. At a certain point, the legendaries sided with us."

"The legendaries?" asked Cilan

"Yes. They saw our suffering and heeded our cry for justice. We had never wronged the Legendaries. They were the reason for Mesoa's existence today. If not for them, we wouldn't exist, so we honored them like gods. We held festivals, gave offerings, anything they wanted of us. In return, they graced us with their presence, since we have never harmed them on purpose. They helped us, and we banned all outsiders for 20 years. No one from Mesoa would be allowed to any of the other regions either, not that they were complaining."

"Then what are you doing here?" asked Misty

"I'm getting to that. After that 20 year period, a man from Kanto had suddenly appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. He explained that his boat had washed ashore. Naturally, we were suspicious, and had our doubts. After a Priest vouched for the man, things began looking good again after his visit. We slowly began a 10 year build of trading again. Learning from past mistakes, only a small amount of resources and Pokémon were taken, and everyone was experiencing a Golden Age. It wasn't until what "that" man did would there forever be bad blood between all of us..." Explained Daisuke with a bitter tone

"Who was he, and what did he do?" asked May

"What his name is isn't important. What he did was unforgivable."

"Well what did he do then?!" asked an irritated Misty

"You will silence yourself if you know what's good for you!" shouted Daisuke, fed up with the interruptions. "You will know everything in do time if you would all just shut your damn mouths!"

"Why don't you take your own advice?!"

The glare that he shot her brought a whole new meaning to the phrase "If looks could kill"

"Now, back to where I was before I was interrupted…" he said still glaring at Misty

"What he did was that he attempted to capture one of our sacred deities. You see, Mesoa has six dragons whose powers are said to be on par with that of Arceus himself, since it's believed that their bodies were originally composed of his own unstable energy. They were the main reason Mesoa exists today. We could never even think of capturing them. "He" didn't give it a second thought, and when one of them had graced him with its presence, he pulled out a Master Ball and tried to capture it. Luckily, the dragon escaped. Unfortunately, so did he. What made it worse is that in his attempt at freedom, he had the nerve to assault a member of the Royal Family. Doing so is considered capital punishment. After that, tensions were apparent. Neither side wanting war, we came to an agreement. If someone from any of the 5 regions wants in, we must be notified and have a special form of identification, and vice-versa."

"You see everyone; Mesoa is ruled by a Monarchy." Explained Professor Oak

"It's more that they watch over what happens in Mesoa. It also has a Senate and a Church, though the latter has no political power. We have our freedom, and they put our feelings first on a matter. The current ruler thought we should demonstrate what a real challenge is, by opening the Mesoa League to all that meet our qualifications." Explained Daisuke

"What do you mean by qualifications? As far as I know, there have never been any necessary qualifications for someone to even compete to enter a league." Questioned Cilan

"All the information you need is enclosed within these envelopes. They contain all the information you'll need."

Just as he was handing the envelopes to Cilan, Professor Oak snatched them away

"There's no way I'll allow anyone to gamble their lives in that competition." Said a furious Oak

"What do you mean by that?" asked Dawn

"In Mesoa, it's dangerous if you run into certain territories. Tribes of Pokémon will become angry at unwanted trespassers to the point they'll attack without warning. What makes it really deadly is the training. The methods are far different, using cruel methods that endanger a Pokémon's life."

"Really?" asked Ash in disbelief

"You've seen the evidence. My Tyranitar." Explained Daisuke

* * *

_Flashback_

"_Go, Tyranitar!"_

_From the poke ball emerged a Tyranitar that was way bigger than normal for its species. Across its body were several scars collected from the harsh battles and training it had to endure to come this far. On its hands, legs, tail, and neck were what appeared to be weights._

* * *

"You mean you did that?!"

"It's not like I was forcing it to do so. The Pokémon agreed to the training to become stronger. They want to see their full potential, even if the methods are unorthodox.

"It's still no reason for a Pokémon to go through all that!" exclaimed Gary

"Then prove me wrong and compete. Use your methods to claim the title as champion."

"As I've said before, I won't allow it!" exclaimed Professor Oak

"How about we battle then? If you win, then I'll leave with the envelopes and never return. If I win, then you allow them to compete." Said Daisuke

"Very well."

* * *

CUTSCENE

Both competitors were standing on opposite sides of their makeshift battlefield

"Dragonite, help me out old friend!" shouted professor Oak

"I remember that Dragonite! You used it during the incident with the mirage Pokemon." Said Gary

"Yes, it certainly is. We haven't battled in a while, so I'm hoping we still have our old skills."

"So it's that kind of game then. Gliscor, let's get this over with."

Out from the sweatshirt came the Fang Scorpion, ready to battle

In the end, this would decide what would happen next…

* * *

**And cut. That's enough for this chapter. Next time, Daisuke and Oak battle for the fate of Ash's next journey, and we get the show and the road. More of Mesoa will also be revealed, and how Daisuke and Professor Oak know eachother, personally.**

**If I messed up with Cilan's way of speaking, sorry, but I can't understand it most of the time.**

**I'm not exactly dead set on making this Advance Shipping, so I'll let you decide between**

**AshxMisty**

**AshxMay**

**AshxDawn**

**AshxOther**

**The only reason is because I've never been a fan of a particular pairing. I'll go with the pairing if I find the story interesting. For example, I found League of Ultimates interesting, so I accepted the Advance Shipping. **

**I'm limiting it to those four choices because he will be traveling with the first three, and if you have a preference, I'll need to know. I'm just trying to keep things interesting and enjoyable. I consider the pairings a side bonus. The poll will close on Wednesday**

**So, here's how you vote:**

**I created a poll where you can decide the pairing. In addition, if you leave in the review the pairing you want, or the name of the pairing, that counts as a vote. PM me the pairing, and that'll also count as a vote. In general, you can only vote 3 times. A little ridiculous, but it helps in your favor**

**Anyway, there will be new pokemon, but the problem is, creating 1, let alone over 150 pokemon, can really be one big headache. Luckily, I've already been given the starters, and two others. The starters were given to me by PichuAuraGuardian18, and the two others were given to me by Axel Nightblazer and Aeron Solo. I won't give out any Pokemon names, but they will appear. I can add it up to about 26 with the six dragons and more elemental monkeys (Pansage, Pansear, Panpour) But, if you have an idea for a Pokémon, or ability, let me know via PM or review. I'll need**

**Name**

**Type**

**Appearance**

**Personality**

**Moveset via level up**

**TM and HM**

**Moves by breeding**

**Moves by tutor (that includes those in Platinum and BW2)**

**For abilities, I'll need the name and how it works. Sojoukou Senkuo has already submitted me a few**

**I will be accepting OCs until a set number of chapters. Here's what I'm looking for information wise**

**Name (last name optional)**

**Age (must be at least 13 years of age)**

**Appearance (including height)**

**Personality**

**Battle Cry**

**Family (optional)**

**Birth Place/Start of Journey**

**History (again optional)**

**Achievements (No less than Top 32)**

**Closest Pokemon (optional)**

**12 Pokemon. That's right. You can have up to double the legal amount. (I didn't start it, and I don't know who. I only figured it out from AshK) I need a number next to them, with 1 being the strongest, and 12 being the weakest. If they're shiny, put an asterisk next to it (this *) I am willing to accept legendaries, TO AN EXTENT. This doesn't mean you can have nothing but legendaries, and they're something like Dialga, Arceus, Genesect, etc. I'll accept the birds, beasts, golems, kami, Shaymin, Victini, and maybe a few others. The rule is no more than 2 legendaries, and no more than 3 shinies. I can't deal with Mary Sue's and Gary Stu's (Overpowered OCs that are REALLY unoriginal)**

**OC's Battle Style**

**What I need for the pokemon is the name (nickname in parenthesis)**

**Gender**

**Moves (I won't set a limit on the number of moves, but don't go insane. I really don't want it going past 20) Also, I'll allow you to have pokemon with moves they can't learn naturally. Pokemon gave a Heatran Eruption and a Riolu Aura Sphere. Why can't we screw around with the moves a little? I'll let you know right now, it doesn't go any further than Hydreigon with Bolt Strike and Blue Flare, meaning no Roar of Time Pichu, or Sacred Fire Buneary. (Look up a Pokemon on Bulbapedia to learn about the tutor moves) **

**Pokemon's Personality**

**Here's an example of an OC submission that I'm looking for**

**Name: Ryan**

**Age: 22**

**Appearance: 6'0 tall with neck length silver hair. He constantly wears sunglasses since his eyes are black sclera with purple irises and black pupils. He wears a leather jacket over a white t shirt and jeans. Instead of shoes, he ops for leather cowboy boots with a distinct Spanish style. Around his neck is a dragon pendant. On his chest is a scar over his heart, which mirrors on his back**

**Personality: He's cold and uncaring. He often keeps to himself and rarely opens up to anyone. He never judges people on appearance, background, place of birth, etc. Instead, he prefers to judge how strong someone's will is, and how great their determination is. He hates people who think themselves superior to everyone, and can't stand arrogant people. He really opens up to those he considers his friends, and his sister, Maria. He does show respect for those who he finds as worthy adversaries. He believes in expecting the unexpected, and preparing for anything. He hates it when someone mentions his childhood and tries to hurt his sister**

**Battle Cry: Out from the shadows (pokemon name)**

**Family: Maria (younger sister) Unnamed Mother (deceased) Unnamed Father (deceased) Marcus (godfather)**

**Hometown: Shadow City, Mesoa **

**History: He was six years old when Maria was born. When their parents died soon after, he quickly learned to lie, cheat, and steal to help both of them live. A year after, their estranged godfather, Marcus, found them and asked if they wanted to live with him. Ryan was skeptical, but after Marcus proved it, they both decided to live with him in Shadow City's Daycare. When Ryan was 10, he decided to begin his journey in Sinnoh since he didn't meet the qualifications for Mesoa. His starter was a very unusual Deino he found. It was Shiny, and knew two moves exclusive to Reshiram and Zekrom. After traveling with him for a while, the Deino learned to talk! Doing so, it mentioned an underground organization experimenting on Pokemon DNA to make it compatible to learn a more diverse set of moves. After competing in the 5 leagues, and meeting Ginji, Mike, Katie, Sierra, and Crsytal, they found the lab and raided it, destroying all the equipment, and deleting data (while taking a copy for themselves to look at later) One of the one's in charge found a large shard of sharp metal, and hurled it at Ryan. It went right through his heart, apparently killing him. After they got out of there, it exploded. Just when it looked like he was gone for good, Daisuke, who heard the explosion, offered his help. Desperate, they accepted it. He managed to survive, but it left him with black scleras. He accepted this, glad he didn't die there.**

**Pokemon**

***(1) Hydreigon (male) Blue Flare, Bolt Strike, Dragon Tail, Head Smash, Ice Fang, Thunder Fang, Fire Fang, Draco Meteor, Dark Pulse, Dragonbreath, Flamethrower, Dragon Rush, Hyper Voice, Aqua Tail, Heat Wave, Earth Power, Zen Headbutt, Torment, Work Up, Giga Impact**

**Personality: Hydreigon is Ryan's most loyal and powerful Pokemon. He is grateful for Ryan helping him when he needed it. He is the most powerful Pokemon in the group, and there for the de facto leader of all the Pokemon. He is only used in battle when Ryan battles a powerful opponent.**

**(2) Golurk- Dynamic Punch, Shadow Punch, Heavy Slam, Earthquake, Hammer Arm, Fly, Ice Beam, Flash Cannon, Psychic, Shadow Ball, Rock Polish, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Fire Punch, Drain Punch, Charge Beam, Focus Punch, Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Sandstorm**

**Personality: Golurk is more of a "helping hands" Pokemon. It prefers to help out more than actually battle. This doesn't mean that he's weak. In fact, he's second only to Hydreigon. **

**(3) Infernape (male) Thunder Punch, Blast Burn, Flare Blitz, Poison Jab, Dig, Flamethrower, Brick Break, Hone Claws, Focus Blast, Blaze Kick, Gunk Shot, Dual Chop, Iron Tail, Solarbeam, Hyper Beam, Heat Wave, Shadow Claw, Rest, Sleep Talk, Fire Pledge**

**Personality: He's always has a competitive spirit, and has developed a small rivalry between Zoroark and Lucario. He has a high level of endurance and can handle strain on his body, for a short while**

**(4) Lucario (male) Aura Sphere, Blaze Kick, Dragon Pulse, Dark Pulse, Extremespeed, Bone Rush, Metal Claw, Final Gambit, Foresight, Psychic, Stone Edge, Poison Jab, Bullet Punch, Cross Chop, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, Drain Punch, Zen Headbutt, Magnet Rise, Water Pulse**

**Personality: He's the calmest on Ryan's team, and the most levelheaded. He rarely gets angry or mad, but can get annoyed rather easily. He can communicate through telepathy. He has a small rivalry between Infernape and Zoroark**

***(5) Zoroark (male) Foul Play, Night Daze, Flamethrower, Aerial Ace, Hyper Voice, Bounce, Extrasensory, Dark Pulse, Counter, Dig, Shadow Ball, Shadow Claw, U-turn, Night Slash, Psychic, Metal Claw, Protect, Snarl, Toxic, Shadow Ball**

**Personality: He's the group trickster and often uses his illusionary abilities to pull pranks. He was givin to Ryan as an egg from Daisuke.**

**I think you all have the point now on what I need. I just used those 5 to help you all out. I'm not really looking for their ability, but feel free to add that too. Again, a lot of the stuff is optional. I really don't need it that much, so if some of those become a hassle or become a headache, just skip them**

**Before I go, I want to give a special thanks to p17oyDONju9n, Tensa Zangetsu 17, and Alhazad2003 for their support on my first real story; Bleach: Mystery of the Past: Secret of the Shinso. To anyone that has interest in Arrancar at Yokai Academy Redux, that whole chapter will eventually be redone, I just need to focus on this, and the other story I mentioned before**

**Subscribe to me, or this story, for future updates and chapters. Leave comments in the reviews, but know this: ALL FLAMERS SHALL BE DEALT WITH, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!**

**Remember to read, review, and enjoy. A.M.P 1008, signing out**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'll be honest; I'm surprised how fast this story took off. The favs, the subscriptions, the submissions. Really, it feels great :)**

**At this point, I would like to thank PichuAuraGuardian18, KingFatman25, Emerald Dynamo, Breekitty, KCNederland, Lightningblade49, Sol21, White-Falcon-06, Tendou Souji, PandarianMist, Sleep Arypsure, Traveling Master, eonhunter357, and everyone else.**

**For Pokemon submissions, I would like to thank PichuuraGuardian18, Vanyard, eonhunter357, Aeron Solo, his brother Axel Nightblazer, Sleep Arypsure, and Emerald Dynamo**

**As of Wednesday, September 19th, the poll closed, and the pairing is final. Sorry if you're disappointed with the pairing, but majority rules. From this point on, after taking into consideration the reviews, poll choices, and PMs, it's AshxMay, AdvanceShipping, whatever you want to call it. Don't blame me. I had that poll up for over a month**

**I've gotten a lot of various requests and ideas, which I don't mind. But, understand this now; if I can't find a way to use it, then it won't happen. I've gotten a request for two OCs to travel as a couple. I can make that happen without a problem. Someone wanted their OC to be with Dawn. I could do that, or I could make that want into a rivalry. Some wanted to meet Ash's group in a certain way. It may happen, and it may not happen.**

**With the legendaries, it's being kinda stretched on what Legendaries I'm accepting. I mean, Reshiram and Zekrom, unless I have a good enough reason. Even then, I'll have to ask for you to make a change**

**The way this story will work will be based on a certain Pokemon game. Here's a hint; a special was created based on the game. If you don't know, it'll show in the chapter. If you STILL can't guess, leave it in a review and I'll reveal it next chapter. It's more fun for me that way :P **

**In the last chapter Ash finally won a league and returned home to Pallet Town to celebrate. Before he could return home though, Team Rocket showed up once more and nearly made away with Pikachu, until the mystery man Daisuke appeared to stop them. After arriving to Professor Oak's and meeting with an old friend, May, they made their way to Professor Oak's for a surprise party. Before they could engage in the party, the mystery man, Daisuke arrived, revealing news of a new region, Mesoa, along with its past and ways. Determined to make sure Ash and friends don't go off into the dangerous region, Professor Oak challenged Daisuke to a Pokemon battle to decide what Ash and the others would do.**

**In this chapter, the decision shall be made, and much more shall be revealed**

* * *

_Chapter 1: Revelations Made. Training for the Mesoa League_

Standing opposite of each other in a makeshift battlefield (which was really just a large grassy area) were Professor Oak, and Daisuke Johnson. After this battle, it would decide whether or not Ash and co. went to Mesoa

'_I can't lose here! I won't allow them to gamble their lives!'_ thought Professor Oak

'_He's certainly apprehensive over this battle. He'll only either screw up, or give himself a coronary. Oh well, "one man's trash is another man's treasure" as the saying goes.'_ Though Daisuke, smirking

"Since I was the one to challenge you, you can make the first move." Stated Daisuke

"I'll gladly take you up on that offer. Dragonite, use Ice Puch!"

Dragonite let out a cry and made a fist. Almost immediately, it became surrounded by a light blue color. Dragonite then charged at the scorpion-bat

"Charge into it with Poison Jab!"

* * *

"Is he nuts?! An Ice type move is Super-Effective against a Ground/Flying type like Gliscor!" stated Max

"While a Poison type move won't deal as much damage to Dragonite." Stated Iris

* * *

The two Pokemon collided and began pushing against each other in a struggle for the upper hand.

"Gliscor, break it up and use Ice Fang!"

Gliscor pulled back on the Poison Jab and moved backwards a little, which forced Dragonite to move forward, causing it to lose momentum. This allowed Gliscor to bite down on Dragonite's arm with very cold fangs. Dragonite yelped out in pain

"Hang in there. Pull back and use Dragon Pulse!"

Doing as it was told, Dragonite managed to gain some distance away from its opponent and fired a blue-green ball of energy

"Use Stone Edge!"

Gliscor became surrounded by white rings, before the glow stopped and a multitude of stones were floating around its body. It fired the multiple stones at the ball of dragon energy, which resulted in an explosion. There were more stones however, and they struck Dragonite, hard. It was a critical hit

"Hang in their old friend! Use flamethrower!"

Dragonite unleashed a jet of flames towards its opponent

"Getting desperate, I see. Dodge and use Poison Jab!"

Gliscor dodged, but not fast enough and one of the wings got burned

"Gli!" it yelled in pain

"Quick, go in with Ice Punch once more!"

"Dragonite wasted no time and quickly sped towards its opponent and delivered a strong, cold punch to the face

"Follow up with Aqua Tail!"

Taking advantage of the little momentum it had, Dragonite coated its tail in pressurized water and slammed it on its bat-scorpion opponent.

Gliscor fell to the ground with a thud. It managed to get up, was covered with scrapes and bruises. It was also panting hard, since both attacks were Super Effective, though Dragonite was getting tired as well. Between the Stone Edge and the power it put behind the attacks it's used so far, it was nearing its end.

"This is getting boring. Gliscor, get up."

The Pokemon did as instructed

"Now, Sand Tomb!"

* * *

The others were shocked at the man's choice of attack

"What's he thinking?! A Ground type move won't do anything against a Flying type like Dragonite!" stated Cilan

"Maybe he's getting desperate." Said May

"Well, let's see what he's planning." Stated Brock

* * *

The others were confused at what he was planning, but Professor Oak wasn't. He could remember this attack like it was yesterday. Sand Tomb isn't the strongest attack out there, but it made up for it by binding the opponent. Daisuke here, developed it to such a level where it could actually hurt a Flying type

"Dragonite, get out of there now!" Professor shouted with urgency

Dragonite did as commanded with as much speed as possible. When it ascended into the air, large arms sprouted out of the ground, composed entirely of sand. Despite their large size, they moved quickly to try and grab the air borne opponent

* * *

"What is that? I've never seen Sand Tomb used that way before!" said a shocked Max

"He must have developed it in that way to combat Flying types." Said Brock

Talk about adding a surprise to an already unknown dish. Truly a flavor of mysteries." Stated Cilan

* * *

Dragonite kept trying to dodge all the sandy hands coming towards it. Key word "trying"; it couldn't keep away from all of them, and being already exhausted before, this fleeing added up so much fatigue that one of the hands grabbed it and pulled it back down to the ground with a powerful slam. When the dust cloud cleared, it showed Dragonite being squeezed with great force by the other hands, and being drawn into the Earth

"Déjà vu, huh Oak? I remember the last time we battled and I used this variation of Sand Tomb. You should remember how this plays out, right? It's the usual two options: give up, or I'll end it." Stated Daisuke

* * *

"Huh, they've battled before?" asked Iris

"Just from the conversation and how grandpa was reacting to him, they've definitely met before, but I didn't know he actually battled him." Said Gary

* * *

'_I can't believe I fell for it again! Oh, what do I do? My last Pokemon wasn't strong enough before to break out. It doesn't help that Dragonite's gotten older, so naturally he isn't in his prime. I don't want to surrender, but I don't have a choice.'_

"I…I…"

"Uh, what are you trying to say, Samuel? I didn't quite hear you?" said Daisuke, actually leaning towards him, hand behind ear, smirking with glee

"I surrender!"

"Smart move, Oak, though I figured you would've learned the first time around; you do what's necessary to win. Gliscor, let the invalid's little lizard go."

Gliscor released the captive dragon, albeit with a small amount of reluctance

"Dragonite, return. Thank you for everything." Said Professor Oak

All Gliscor did was slide back into its Trainer's hoodie

"As I was saying..." Daisuke started "All the stuff you'll need to know are enclosed within these envelopes." Daisuke handed the envelopes to Cilan

"Don't lose them. It's a pain to get copies."

Cilan distributed the envelopes to the intended recipients

"Just so you know, the ship departing to Mesoa leaves in a month. I do hope you'll be able to make it. It'd be a shame to see such talent go to waste. And so, I bid you all aideu."

With that last statement, a sudden sandstorm kicked up for a split second, enough time for the man to disappear

After a few seconds, Gary decided to ask the question "How does he know you, grandpa?"

Professor Oak sighed and began to explain the details of what happened

"It all happened a long ago actually. In fact, it was before you were even born."

* * *

_Flashback _

_KANTO TEN YEARS AGO_

_Professor Oak was sitting in his lab, doing research on Pokemon Evolution, when an unknown boy suddenly spoke up_

"_Are you Professor Oak?"_

"_Huh?"_

_The professor turned around to see a boy with a Gligar on his back_

"_Who are you?"_

"_The name's Daisuke Johnson, and I'm from Mesoa_

_Oak's eyes widened at that statement_

"_Did...you just say Mesoa?"_

"_Yeah. I came over here to compete in the Kanto League. Though, I heard you were Agatha's rival, and I was curious to see how strong you are."_

"_Well...I suppose a mock battle would be okay."_

* * *

_CUTSCENE (same field)_

"_Alright Gligar, let's go!"_

_Said Pokemon leaped from the boy's back and onto the battlefield_

"_Let's go, Beedrill!"_

_From the professor's pokeball came a large bee with sharp stingers shaped a bit like lances. It was mainly yellow with black stripes and big red eyes. It also had antennas on its head_

"_Beedrill, use twineedle!"_

"_Sandstorm!"_

_The two stingers on the bee started to glow white. It then charged at its opponent. The rush of sand went towards to counter it, which it did. It also sent the wind to the bee, causing damage_

"_Beedrill, fly up and get out of there!"_

_It did as commanded and got to higher altitude_

"_Sand Tomb."_

_The hands of sand rushed up and grabbed the airborne creature and dragged it back to the Earth. They then proceeded to squeeze the life out of it._

"_Beedrill!"_

"_You could always surrender, or I could finish it." Said Daisuke_

_The professor was too shocked to respond. A child, who had been on a journey no longer than a year, put him into a corner. Granted he hadn't battled all that much since he settled down and started a family, and Beedrill wasn't his strongest, but there's no way a child could've put him in a position like this. It was completely ludicrous. Just what was happening in _that _region?_

"_No response. Then it seems to me you've made your choice. Gligar, use Gulliotine!"_

_Blue energy formed at the pincers and extended into blade like formations. Shaped like an "X" they sliced the trapped insect and knocked it out_

_With that, the professor returned his Beedrill, looking completely shell shocked_

* * *

_Flashback ends_

"Whoa." Said everyone

"Yes, it's quite shocking. The look in his eyes wasn't like that of a normal child. It was that of a power hungry ruler. He was after something, but I don't know what." Said Professor Oak

They all stood there, thinking on what happened. Thinking about what just happened a few moments ago.

"Well, let's see what's in the envelopes." Said Brock

They all opened their respective envelopes. Enclosed in the envelopes were a set of rules for the Mesoa League

"Look, here's a rule sheet!" Max spoke up

They all looked around and saw the following rules:

1. All trainers competing are permitted to bring up to 12 Pokemon

2. When battling in All for One, and One for All (1), you must battle until you, or your opponent, completely run out of useable Pokemon.

3. All trainers must have at least three years of experience to compete in the Mesoa League (2)

4. Trainers shall be divided into groups of no more than 4

5. Teams may earn badges by beating Gyms, winning tournaments, or defeating other trainers

6. A team is disqualified when they no longer have any more badges

7. To compete in the actual league, all teams must undergo:

The Badge Trial, where teams have one year to collect 16 badges

The Preliminary Round, where team members battle another team's members. The team with the most wins moves on. The one(s) with the most losses are eliminated

The actual event, where the Top 32 teams move on to compete for the championship

8. All visitors must present ID when asked to verify that they are guests, not trespassers

9. A Mesoa native has no obligation to explain anything to visiting outsiders

10. Anyone brought in on criminal charges and/or are suspects in criminal investigations shall be tried in Mesoa. Foreigners will not be returned home to be tried, they will be tried and face the penalties set by Mesoa

11. For coordinators, they shall be teamed up with at least one contestant in the Mesoa League. The Mesoa League shall take place in the same location as the Grand Festival. Location shall be revealed when either 10 ribbons or 16 badges are collected. This does not exempt you from collecting the necessary badges/ribbons

Any and all questions shall be answered at the opening ceremony

"Wow, there certainly are a lot of rules here." Said Ash

"And what's this about teams?" asked May

"When trainers compete in Mesoa, they're partnered up with others, based on battling capabilities and ability to survive in the wilderness." Said Professor Oak

"How do they do that?" asked Misty

"Mostly, it's random, though they do research on how well they could stand each other. I competed myself with three others, and quickly found out why there are teams. If something happens to the main battler, one other could take his place. I was the main battler for my group and when I became ill, one of my teammates battled in my place during a Gym Battle."

"You've competed before?" asked Ash

"I made the Top 16. I lost when my teammate fell to a Toxic-Venoshock combo."

"It's still an impressive feat."

"Yes, I suppose it is." Professor Oak had a look of pride, and joy on his face, as if he was reliving that day all over again

"Well, then let's get this celebration under way now. Like he said, we have a whole week to think about it, and there's no point in worrying about it now." Said Iris, trying to lighten the mood. It seemed to work

* * *

And so, after the awkwardness from earlier events quickly left, everyone was quickly enjoying themselves, catching up on old times, showing new Pokemon, the works. Max had finally gotten that battle he always wanted, and greatly enjoyed it. It was his Grovyle, Mightyena, and a Gallade against Ash's Krookodile, newly returned Hauntar, and Pikachu in a three on three without substitutions. Hauntar lost to Mightyena, and Pikachu beat Grovyle, even with the disadvantage. Max came close to victory, but his Gallade fell to Krookodile's powerful Crunch attack. They shook hands, and promised to battle again someday

Later that night, Ash was sitting by a creek looking at that same trinket again, mulling things over about Mesoa. All he planned was to enjoy time back home and confess, but it seemed Arceus always had a new challenge for his "Chosen One."

'_I guess my life was never meant to be simple, or easy.' _Thought Ash

"Hey, are you okay?" asked a new voice

Ash turned to see that the source of the voice was May. Seeing her under the moonlight, Ash couldn't help but blush

"Y…yeah, I'm fine. I was just mulling over this whole Mesoa thing." He said while putting the trinket away

"Yeah, it definitely came as a shock to me too."

"Really, all I planned was to just come home, do something, and then maybe retry all the other Leagues."

"And what would be that "something." Asked May with interest

"Well..."

'_This is what I've been waiting for. I can't back out of it now!' _thought Ash

"Yes?" asked May

"Well, I just want to say that we definitely had a lot of crazy adventures together. It was fun traveling with you throughout Hoenn and Kanto. During that time, you became a really close friend to me. When Drew and Harley kept trying to put you down, it just made feel so angry! They always thought they were better than you! Well, they were wrong!"

"Oh, Ash."

"You're strong, talented, smart, and beautiful. You're a great coordinator, and a great friend. Anyone would be lucky to have you as a girlfriend."

"Ash..." May started, tearing up at what Ash said

"What happened? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, you just said all the right things."

'_Well, you've come this far.' Thought Ash_

"May, what I'm trying to say is that over our travels, you've become more to me than a friend. After you left, I couldn't stop thinking about you. Even when you briefly visited Sinnoh for the Wallace Cup, which was one of the greatest things to happen to me, you were on my mind the whole time you were there. I honestly thought you were just a close friend, but you became more to me over time. May Haruka Maple, I love you. I have for a long time, and it would mean the world to me if you would be my girlfriend."

At this point, tears were pouring down May's face. Not out of sadness, but joy

"Yes! I'll happily become your girlfriend!"

Out of nothing but joy and excitement, May jumped on Ash and started hugging him. Ash, at this point, couldn't do more than return it.

"I'm really glad you accepted. I was afraid that Drew beat me to the punch."

"Actually, he tried asking me to be his girlfriend before the finals at the Johto Grand Festival. I couldn't tell if he was sincere, or if he was just playing around with my head."

"What did you say?"

"I rejected him, and then he got mad and said that he didn't need someone like me for a girlfriend anyway, and said he would crush me at the finals."

"Glad you did. So, what happened? Did you beat him?"

"Actually, I did. He let his anger at what happened cloud his judgment and lost. We actually celebrated a week ago."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this now." Said a disbelieving Ash

"It wasn't your fault. Professor Oak said the phones over there don't cross over into other regions."

"Yeah, but still. I wish I could've been there."

"Don't worry about it. You becoming my boyfriend more than makes up for it."

Then, Ash got an idea.

"I can at least give you a late gift."

"Like what?"

"Just close your eyes for a few seconds."

May did as instructed, and in a few seconds, felt Ash's lips on hers. It was just a light peck, but it still surprised her a bit. After a second or two, she returned it with passion. They just sat there, enjoying each other's taste. Soon, oxygen became too much of a necessity and they broke apart for air

"Wow…just…wow." Said May, blushing a deep red

"I feel the same way, May." Replied Ash

* * *

So, they newly formed couple decided to return to the lab just as the party was winding down. When everyone looked at them, holding hands, they knew what it meant. Max, Gary, and Iris teased the new lovebirds. Cilan, Professor Oak, Tracey and Delia congratulated the two. Dawn and Misty looked jealous for some reason, but were happy for the two anyway. Brock wept silently in his own corner moaning and whining about how Ash got a girlfriend before he did. Everyone laughed at his reaction.

After the party, everyone decided to stay at Professor Oak's for the night. They all fell asleep rather quickly, but Ash was still awake, mulling things over

'_I can't believe it. I've won the Unova League confessed to May. Not only that, but I get news of a whole new region.'_

At that point, Ash thought back to the mysterious man, Daisuke Johnson, and Mesoa. Seeing what that Tyranitar had been through with its training. Learning the professor competed in that same region back years ago, and the hatred they hold for outsiders. He couldn't help it. It was definitely an attention grabber

'_I wonder what's in Mesoa? What are the Pokemon like? Does everyone hate the "outsiders"?'_

As Ash continued his train of thought on the region, he came to a decision

'_I'm going to compete in that League, and I will win!' _Ash thought with determination

But, it was there that Ash realized something, something he should've realized a long time ago

'_I've been neglecting everyone else. That isn't fair. Every new region I've been to, I've always started fresh. No one else but me and Pikachu. I swore to only use the Pokemon I caught there. Maybe that's why I lost to Paul at Lake Acuity, and why I lost to Tobias at the Semi Finals. Legendaries or not, if I had trained with the others as much as I had trained the Pokemon I had caught in that region, then maybe it would've changed the outcomes. Well, it's decided. Tomorrow, I'll announce my decision, and get everyone back into their top shape.'_

* * *

NEXT MORNING

Everyone woke a little groggy that morning. Perhaps it was because it was too early for them, or was it everything that happened yesterday? No one knew, it was too early to think about it

Brock and Cilan were in the Lab's kitchen preparing breakfast for the people and Pokemon. Since both were accustomed to preparing food for large numbers (the real challenge being Ash's stomach) they had no problems with it. They got along rather easily and were even discussing recipes and ways to raise Pokemon

At the smell of breakfast, everyone ran to the PokeCorral (they moved outside to enjoy the air) to see a large platter of food waiting at the table. Bacon, eggs, sausage, waffles, pancakes, fruit, juice, toasted bagels, everything. For the Pokemon, food bowls filled with Pokemon food mixed with their favorite Poffin, or Pokeblock, mix.

"Wow, all of this looks great! Let's dig in!" said Ash

"Yeesh, just like a little kid to get so worked up over food." Said Iris

"Then why was your mouth watering a few seconds ago?" teased Gary. Everyone got a kick out of seeing Iris turn red with embarrassment

After the large, and delicious breakfast, Ash decided to announce his plans

"I've decided I want to compete in the Mesoa League."

At that, all eyes were on him, for what he said.

"Are you nuts?! You saw what happened yesterday, what that guy did to his Pokemon! Why would you want to go there?" asked a flabbergasted Iris

"It's because I want to see for myself what type of region it is for myself."

"But don't you think this decision is too sudden? I mean, you have a month to think about it." Said Misty

"That's why I'm going to use that month to get everyone back into shape."

At that, everyone turned to him, confused by his statement

"You see, whenever I went to a new region, I've only took Pikachu with me, and vowed I would only use the Pokemon I caught there for my battles. I didn't realize I was neglecting the others so much. If I even bothered to use the others every so often, maybe I could've beaten Paul at Lake Acuity, or Tobias in the Sinnoh League, Legendaries or not. Sure, I beat Trip, but just barely. This time, I won't take any more chances."

At what Ash said, everyone was amazed at how much he grew. Before, he probably would've run off at the first chance he had for a new adventure. Now, he actually thought this one out

"Well, you're not going alone. I'll be there right with you." Stated May

"Don't forget about me. After all, I was one of your first traveling partners." Said Misty

"Me too. I wanna go with you too!" said an eccentric Max

"Don't forget about me, Ashy-boy." Said Gary

"I'd like to go too, if Professor Oak doesn't mind" said Tracey

"Not at all, Tracey. Just be careful." Said Professor Oak

"I must admit, the idea of trying something completely new is exhilarating. To never know what it'll be like, whether you'll enjoy the taste of it all or not. You can count me in." said Cilan

"Don't think you can leave me out of this." Said Iris

"No way am I missing out on this!" stated Dawn

"Just be careful there." Said Delia

"Don't think you can leave me out of this too." Said Brock

"But what about medical school? You're saying you're finished already?" Asked Ash

No, but since I already know a lot of it, I got to skip a lot of the curriculum and took the test really early. I aced it, but I still have to go through the necessary four years. I finished the first year already a while back, and I can't start the second year until next year." Explained Brock

"Then it looks like we're all in." stated Ash

"Can I help with your training?" asked a newcomer

They all turned and saw someone around Ash's height with brown hair. He wore a navy blue short–sleeved collared shirt worn open over a black T-shirt, blue jeans, and black and red sneakers. He was carrying a forest green backpack and was wearing a pair of sunglasses over his eyes. When he took them off, it revealed that his eyes were brown in color. On his shoulder was a Pichu

Before anyone could say anything, the stranger was suddenly enveloped in a bone crushing hug from Delia. It was at that point the Pichu hopped off its trainer's shoulder

"Gavin! It's been too long since I last saw you! How are you doing?!" said a too enthusiastic Delia

"Can't…breathe…" he gasped out

"Sorry about that." Delia said as she released her grip on the poor boy

When the boy fell to the ground after being let go, Ash managed to recognize who it was

"Gavin? Is that really you?"

"Yeah, long time no see, huh cousin?"

"COUSIN?!"

"Yeah, we're cousins. In fact, Gavin used to live in Kanto right near us before he moved to Johto." Said Ash, wondering what the big deal was. Just because you didn't see a friend's relative doesn't mean you can go ballistic over it

"You never mentioned you had a cousin, so we were all a little shocked." Said Max

"Shocked would be an understatement. And the reason I never brought him up is because I didn't think it would be that important."

"Ouch, that one hurt." Said Gavin, feigning hurt

"You know I didn't mean it like that." Said Ash

"Yeah, I know."

"So, what brings you back here to Kanto?" asked Professor Oak

"Honestly, I wanted to surprise Ash with a visit, since I saw his victory in the Unova League, but I got held up on something

"What was it?" asked Gary

"Someone kept pestering me about some region called Mesoa and wanted me to compete."

"Are you sure they said Mesoa?" asked Professor Oak

"Yep. I kept telling him I didn't have time, but he was too insistent. We decided to settle it with a Pokemon battle, but his Tyranitar was really powerful. It just kept taking hit after hit. It was covered in scars too."

"Yeah, we've already met him. He gives me the creeps." Said Iris

"Glad I'm not the only one feeling it." Said Misty, still feeling the glare from the blood red eyes

"Anyway, so I overheard everything and figured I would help you out. Right, Pichu?"

"Pichu!" it replied pumping a little fist into the air

"Then let's get to work!"

* * *

For the next three weeks, Ash, and the others, trained as hard as possible. Whether it was building up endurance, speed, attack power, or even a new move, no one wasted a second of Dialga's gift to mankind and put every effort into training. During that time Ash and May became even closer as a couple, while Dawn, strangely enough, was growing closer to Gavin. During that time period, Squirtle evolved into Wartortle, Larvitar to Pupitar, Buizel to Floatzel, Gible to Gabite, and Totodile to Croconaw

Glalie had managed to learn Gyro Ball, Seismitoad learned Sludge Wave and Ice Punch, Gigalith learned Rock Polish, which would definitely come in handy, as well as Explosion and Solarbeam. Floatzel managed to acquire Razor Wind after evolving, and Scald, Sceptile and Infernape both learned ThunderPunch, Gabite had learned Dragon Claw and Sandstorm, and all the starters managed to acquire their respective pledges.

During that time, it was also revealed that May had caught an Altaria, a Misdreavus, a Skiploom, a Granbull, and a Miltank, and that Dawn had a Gorebyss, a Spinda, and surprisingly enough, a Plusle and Minun duo. When questioned, she said it became easier to deal with those two after she defeated Ursula in the Grand Festival.

What was suppose to be three weeks of training and one week to walk turned out to be two days to get there. They decided to fly there to insure they would get to the boat on time. Ash and May on Pidgeot, Dawn on Togekiss, Gavin on his Flygon, Max and Brock on Charizard, Misty on Unfezant, Gary on Skarmory, and Tracey on Staraptor.

After arriving in Vermillion, they quickly decided what Pokemon they would bring with them. Ash would bring Pikachu (of course) Corphish (he was close to evolving) Gabite (more training) Pupitar, Hauntar, Charizard, Gigalith, Wartortile, Butterfree, Glalie, Torterra, and Quilava

Gary decided on Blastoise, Umbreon, Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Skarmory, Electivire, Arcanine, Scizor, and newly evolved Magmorter

Brock had his Steelix, Marshtomp, Forretress, Sudowoodo, Crobat, and Croagunk

Misty had her Gyarados, Marill, Psyduck, Togetic (which returned to her while Ash was still in Unova) and Politoed. She had to leave a few behind so her sisters wouldn't screw up as much

May, her Blaziken, Wartortile, Venusaur, Glaceon, Miltank, Munchlax, recently evolved Delcatty, and Skiploom

Dawn, her Piplup, Buneary, Mamoswine, Quilava, Pachirisu, Togekiss, and Ambipom, who they picked up in Viridian

Max, his Grovyle, Vigoroth, Mightyena, Gallade, Numel, Shuppet, and Baltoy

Tracey, his Azumarill, Venonat, Scyther, and shockingly enough, a shiny Smeargle

Gavin just decided it would be safe to keep his current team with him (3)

Since the boat wouldn't leave until tomorrow at three, everyone decided to stay the night at the Pokemon Center

"Nurse Joy! After so much time of being apart, I have returned to bequeath my undying love for you! I pray that you'll accept my love with every fiber of your being, as I will do the same!"

At that moment, Croagunk decided to Poison Jab him and end it, Max and Misty dragging him by the ear has he fell unconscious

"Arceus has heard your prayer, and has denied you." Said Ash Everyone just laughed at both the joke and Brock's misfortune

That night, everyone went to sleep as much as soon as possible so they could be prepared for tomorrow. Ash, however had two things on his mind.

'_I will win Mesoa, no matter what anyone says, and I'll be sure that no matter what, I won't let Drew and Harley insult May anymore.'_

* * *

**And cut, wrap. That, folks, will be the end of chapter 2. I really hope I didn't use too much from PichuAuraGuardian18's story.**

**Speaking of which, Gavin isn't mine, but his. How, and when OCs appear, isn't based on favoritism, but how I'm able to use them **

**Again, I will accept healthy criticism on this chapter, but NO FLAMERS, except for the flashback battle. Little too one sided and ridiculous.**

**1. That means all members of a team must battle, until all members no longer have any useable Pokemon**

**2. There are acceptions, such as battle records. If they're good enough, then they don't have to be 13 years old**

**3. Like I'm gonna tip off at what an OC has before a battle. I won't do that**

**If you have an OC that's a coordinator, then send that one too. I'm working with both sides here (Don't get any ideas perverts)**

**You saw the rule sheet. I'm dividing trainers and coordinators into teams here. So, send in as many OCs as possible. I've gotten a lot so far, but I need A LOT more OCs. Don't be shy, send them all!**

**This will not be an Ash-centric story. It'll go back and forth between groups as they journey on for the badges and/or ribbons. This is so all OCs can a piece of the soptlight. Kinda my way of showing appreciation for the OCs, reviews, hits, etc.**

**AdvanceShipping is the final pairing. I hope you liked the moment I created. I tried my best with it, but that was my first try at something like that. Hope you weren't disappointed. I was making sure I didn't copy it**

**In the next chapter, Ash and the gang set off on the boat and are arranged on to their teams. Will the members hit it off nicely, or will they want to kill eachother within the first five minutes. Also, it seems Giovanni is troubled about Cassidy and Butch. What could it be? And who is the man in the trench coat sitting in his office? All this and more in the next chapter**

**Remember to read, review, and enjoy. I'm A.M.P 1008, signing out!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone on fanfiction, and welcome back to another chapter of Mesoa League, The Ultimate Challenge. As always, I'm your host, A.M.P 1008**

**During Hurricane Sandy, I had lost power for four days and wanted to conserve my laptop's power, so I really couldn't do any work. It turned out to not be as bad as I had originally expected**

**In the last chapter, Professor Oak's past revealed he once encountered the mystery man, Daisuke Johnson, and even competed in the Mesoa League at one point. After losing to him, Ash and the others were given a month to decide on whether or not they wanted to come to Mesoa. It was also during that month that Ash had finally confessed to May about his true feelings, and quickly decided to get everyone back into shape. Ash's previously unknown cousin, dropped in for a visit, revealing he was also invited.**

**Wasting not even a single second, they trained as hard as they could, revealing new evolutions, new moves, and even new Pokemon for Dawn and May**

**In this chapter, everyone will arrive at Mesoa. Also, it seems Giovanni has something up his sleeve, an ace of some sort. What is it? Find out now!**

**By the way, it was the Mystery Dungeon series, in case none of you could figure it out**

* * *

_Chapter 2: Arrival at Mesoa. Premonition in the Shadows_

TEAM ROCKET HEADQUARTERS

When Jessie, James, and Meowth returned to their hidden mountain base, they were all concerned about what Giovanni would do to them after they failed to catch Pikachu, _again!_

"What do you'se two tink da boss will do?" asked a worried Meowth

"He'll probably call us failures and give us the pink slip." Said a depressed James

"Hey! What's the negative attitude? We did fine enough in Unova." Said Jessie

"Compared to the other 4 regions, I don't like our odds." Said James

As the three were walking down a hallway, they saw Giovanni actually running down a corridor. It seemed to go to the Medical Ward of the base

"Huh? Wonder what dat was all about?" asked Meowth

"Let's go see." Said James

The trio somehow managed to keep up with their boss, and entered the Medical Ward. What they saw shocked them. They didn't know whether to be glad it happened to those two and not them, or be grief stricken at the horror before them

It was Cassidy and Butch, covered with lacerations. Their limbs were twisted in unnatural ways, and parts of bone could be seen sticking out of their chests, which they assumed were ribs. The lacerations just seemed like random slashes, but when put together, they made a message to Giovanni and Team Rocket:

Enter Mesoa, and die! The attacker even had the audacity to carve his head in a chibi like fashion, smiling flashing the peace sign

"I want a full report on what happened!" Giovanni demanded

"Yes sir. According to the reports, while they were on their current mission (setting up phony daycare centers) they were attacked by an unidentified man. It was reported by one of the grunts that the man wore a black hoodie, had blood red eyes, and had a Gliscor on his back. He was also smirking, even as he attacked with daggers." Said the medic

Jessie, James, and Meowth immediately knew who it was the moment they heard blood red eyes and Gliscor. Daisuke Johnson had attacked them, apparently making sure Team Rocket didn't do anything to this Mesoa place.

They couldn't help but gulp so loudly, that Giovanni turned to the source and found the trio

"What do you three bumbling fools want?!" shouted Giovanni

"Well…sir. About that man…" stuttered James

"What about him?!" Giovanni was getting more irritated by the second

"We actually ran into him when we was swiping the twoip's Pikachu. All he did was blast us with lightning with a Tyranitar." Said Meowth

"Is there anything else you know?!" Giovanni's blood pressure was steadily rising with every passing second over this one man who basically was announcing he would kill Team Rocket if they came to the new region

"Calm down Giovanni. You can't get angry at them for something like this." Said a new voice

At the door was a 6'3 tall male who looked to be in his early 40's, evident by his salt and pepper hair. He wore a fedora similar to those in old detective movies and wore a trench coat. Under his trench coat were military style combat boots, and at his left side, were two katanas. On his back were a shotgun and AK-47. On his right side were dual handguns

"What do you mean? These two were the best I had in my organization. How can I calm down?!"

"It's because this is how he wants you to react. He'll set the bait by doing whatever it is that he does, causing the victim to be blinded by rage, which will make them act impulsively and make a mistake that will kill them. Believe me, I know how he works. I've fought him long enough to know."

"So, what do I do then?"

"Leave him to me. I won't charge extra. He's been on my personal hit list for a long time."

Giovanni was surprised at this. Ven wasn't someone who didn't demand extra for another task. He would know, since he and Ven had done business for a long time. In fact, he was just talking to him about stealing the Pikachu just so he could finally stop waiting after 5-6 long years of those three fools failing him, when he heard news of Cassidy and Butch in serious condition

"He'll be returning to Mesoa by the end of the week. I'll deal with him, and that brat, while they're both in Mesoa

"Will you need any assistance with this particular job? I don't doubt your skills, but having backup on this mission might be a good thing."

Ven was a little insulted that one of his oldest clientele was suggesting he needed assistance with swiping a mouse and killing that annoying punk. The latter was definitely a headache, but not so much as he needed backup. But, as he saw those two "fools" he realized they might prove useful. They knew how the target operated the most out of everyone; so naturally, they might be able to help out for once.

"You three…" he pointed to Jessie, James, and Meowth "…will be accompanying me to Mesoa. But I'm warning you now; don't get in my way."

It was hard to tell who was more shocked; the trio who were basically asked to help a well-known bounty hunter, or Giovanni, at Ven for his choice of help

"Are you sure you want them to help?" asked Giovanni, nervously "I assure you, we have more skilled members here."

"And how many of them know as much about my target as these three do?"

All four of them looked at him with a bit of confusion

"If they've been chasing the same person for this long, then they should know how they work." Stated Ven "Besides, it'll give me a chance to kill two birds with one stone."

Everyone decided it would be safer to not argue with him. After all, he was the best of the best

* * *

After waking up, everyone decided to do last minute preparations for their journey. They decided to stock up on potions, Pokémon food, and anything else. The girls also felt it was time for a change in wardrobe, so they decided to drag all the guys along for a shopping trip. Luckily for Gavin, he managed to get away from them all. He decided to pass the time by going to the port and stared out into the ocean. Only his companion, Pichu, was with right now

"Thing sure have gotten crazy, haven't they?" Gavin asked Pichu

"Pi." The little mouse replied, shaking his head

"Still, even though I wasn't planning on this little impromptu journey, it's still good to see Ash again."

"PichuPichu!"

"Hey, Gavin!" someone shouted

Gavin turned around and saw everyone, but with different wardrobe

Ash was wearing the same red hat as normal, but this time the pokeball design was in black, the rest was red. He was wearing a dark blue jacket with a hoodie that had sleeves that covered his arms. Underneath the jacket was a simple white t-shirt with a dark blue Pokeball design. He wore cargo pants that were a shade lighter than the jacket. Oddly enough, he was wearing gloves similar to Sir Aaron's. The shoes were just a plain red shade, with a midnight colored packpack

Brock was wearing a dark gray long sleeved shirt with an orange vest over it. His pants were gray in shade. The sneakers were orange and black

May had donned a white bandana with a blue half pokeball on it. Her top was now an ocean blue shade with matching bike shorts, along with dark blue and black sneakers. Her backpack was a fair aqua shade. She and Ash were basically similar to the people of the sea from long ago, if their hair wasn't blue green and they had a more ancient style of clothing to what they were currently wearing

Dawn's new look was what caught Gavin's eyes the most. She was wearing a light blue dress with white floral designs that went from her right shoulder and seemed to drape to the outside of her left leg, similar to a toga. She managed to find matching heels that didn't hinder her capability to travel long distances. She ditched the yellow hair clips, letting her blue hair flow freely, which had grown slightly since her trip to Unova. She had a white duffel bag with a pink pokeball design somewhere on the side.

'_Whoa…she looks great.' _Gavin thought, turning a small pink shade. Pichu noticed this and snickered a little

Max was wearing something similar to what he always wore. The only real differences were that the shirt was a darker shade, and had longer sleeves. His shorts were now regular jeans, and he wore a green jacket as well. His bag was forest green

Tracey didn't change that much. The only real changes were a darker shade of his headband, green sneakers, and a camouflage shirt. The shorts brown in color. His bag was a deep red shade, bordering crimson

Misty had donned a sky blue t-shirt with bubble designs that were a shade or two darker than the regular blue. She wore deep yellow and sky blue shorts blended together in such a way you couldn't tell which color was meant to be the pattern. Her sneakers and bag were both a mix of yellow and blue

Gary had changed into regular jeans and a tan vest with a white shirt underneath it. The shoes were a mixture of gray, tan, and white. He was still carrying the same silver bag

Cilan still was wearing the bartender's suit, but did find a casual green shirt and shorts, along with white shoes with a Pansage head on the side

It was Iris's new look that got the most attention though. Her hair, which was wild and tamed only by three bands, two of which made small ponytails, was now flowing down her back in one long ponytail tied back, with the top of it pointing in different directions resembling a flower. She also had two loops at the side. She was wearing a white/light pink dress that was a darker shade of pink around the end of the sleeves and the collar. She was wearing slip on shoes similar to the kind she wore before, but they were the same color as the dress, and looked like they could stand long traveling and hikes. She still had a simple knapsack that carried the necessities for traveling

"Wow…talk about big changes. How long did that take you?"

"It took about an hour and a half, actually." Said Ash

"An hour and a half?!" Gavin didn't notice that much time had actually passed. Granted, most of that time was spent avoiding going shopping for new clothes. He preferred the look he had now.

"I think the boat should be at the docks right now." Said Brock

"Let's go then. I'd rather not miss the boat." Said Ash, recalling that one time in Johto to Arborville

So, as they approached the docks and made to get on the boat, the person taking the tickets was someone most of them (Misty and Iris) hoped they wouldn't see for a while, Daisuke

"Good to see you accepted the offer. It really would've been a shame if you couldn't make it."

Daisuke, this time around, was wearing a sailor's suit checking tickets and from various passengers to see if they were authorized to board or not

"Why are you working the tickets?" asked Max

"When you take an unofficial vacation for a month without sending any notice, you won't get off scott-free. I'm just glad I didn't lose my job." _'Not like those idiots could afford to get rid of me. I've brought in over 3/4ths of the competitiors.'_

"Anyway, once I'm done with this, I'll just be taking the boat back, since my ride home was getting too impatient."

"Huh? You're ride home?" asked Misty

"No point in explaining it."

As everyone boarded the boat, it had set sailed towards Mesoa. Out in the crowds, the group saw Delia and Professor Oak seeing them off. Professor Oak was still against it, but he did have faith and knew they would be safe

They had found their cabins and most decided to get changed while Max and Iris decided to go to another part of the ship to do a couple of mock battles with the other trainers

Ash, May, Brock, Dawn, and Gavin found the pool area and while Brock and Gavin settled into the pool, Dawn and May dived in, and Ash just jumped right in, splashing everyone else. The others looked ticked, then they just splashed him right back. That had led to a big splash fight with dunking and double teaming, everyone laughing and having a great time

* * *

On the other side of the ship, Jessie, James, and Ven, dressed casually, made their way to their cabin, no one paying them notice. _Almost _no one

Daisuke nearly dozed off on a lounge chair when he noticed the two Rockets and Ven

'_It seems my message didn't get through to you enough, Giovanni. I will admit that sending Ven along was clever, but it'll only delay _their_ deaths as well. The only thing you've done is give me a prime opportunity to get rid of a migraine, and get you to stay out of my way.'_

"Hey, Daisuke." Someone said

Daisuke looked up to see someone around 5'7 with dirty blonde hair that was both spiky and long. He was wearing a gold polo shirt with jeans and black shoes. He was wearing a light blue cap with the Master Ball insignia on it. His eyes were a mixture of blue and green.

"Hey there M. When did you get here?"

"Just now. What's up with those three?"

"It was nothing. They just give off a bad vibe."

"Alright. Mind if I grab a seat?"

"No."

So, M decided to do just that, and sat next to Daisuke. They started talking a little bit about a few adventures they had and their home region, when...

"I know you're suspicious of me. I also know you know I was hiding something. You could tell it was Ven with those two, the Team Rocket members."

"So?" asked M, not fazed in the slightest

"I can guess that you'll try to stop them. I have no problem with that. But, I'm making it clear right now that Ven is mine. I'll be the one to deal with him. We may be friends, but I have no problem with dealing with you if you get in my way. Don't assume it's because it's of our rival beliefs on Mesoa. I gave Ryan and the others the same warning."

"All I'm trying to do is keep Ash safe. He might be able to help fix the issues we have with the others." M sighed

"I don't doubt that, given his record, but it'll still take a miracle for the Senate to really open up to that idea."

"They went and allowed outsiders in this year."

"And that's what's troubling. They wouldn't do something that risky unless they got something ten times the reward."

"I know. That's why I'll be keeping an eye out on the outsiders, but more importantly, Tai."

"Let me guess, the king was considering it, he convinced him, and the Senate and him "argued" until they agreed."

"In a nutshell, yes."

"I guess we'll just have to wait until this thing really begins. If you don't mind, I haven't slept for a little over a week now."

"Before you take your nap, you should know something. Keep in mind it's just a rumor, but I heard someone from I.P. is competing."

If Daisuke's eyes were shut completely, they widened up again at the news

"What?"

"It's just a rumor, and before you ask, I have no idea who."

'_Dammit! There could be a number of reasons for why someone from I.P. would be here. But, one thing's for sure, M.E.R.E.S is looking for outside help in fixing the problem, but why tell me? Is it because you think I'll bite down, take the bait, and give you what you want? If that's what you want, then I'll do it. I'll bite down, for now. But when I get close enough to the surface, I'll let go and deal with it then._

Daisuke's smirk widened a small amount at the thought, but no one could really tell

"Don't worry about it." M spoke up, getting Daisuke to snap out of his thoughts

"How can I not? Did you even consider the possibilities that'll happen if the agent dies." He whispered

"Yes, I did, which is why I'm keeping my eyes and ears open for anything."

'_Yeah, you are. But you won't let me know when you find something else. Anything to help you and your group achieve your little pipe dream.'_

Daisuke just sighed "Well, no point in trying to deal with it right now. I think I'll take that nap now." To help drown out the sound, he took out his phone and started playing "Save the One Save the All" from his playlist and was asleep before "mamoru omoi wa hitori ja nai"

'_You aren't a fool Daisuke. You can already tell I have something planned. And you're right. It'll involve you alright, and I'll make sure your in it all the way, whether you want to or not. I'm sorry, but it's to help Mesoa.'_

* * *

Later on that night, only two people were awake, both too focused on things particular to them that kept awake. Both of them weren't by the pool, but rather the battlefield inside of the ship; Gavin and Dawn

Dawn had figured she might as well get in some practice for the contests and started training

"Alright then Piplup, let's get some training in for the contests."

"Piplup!"

"Let's start off with Whirlpool

Piplup became en-cloaked in a light blue type of energy. From his beak, a whirlpool had taken form. He then launched it to the center of the battlefield

"Now, use Ice Beam!"

Piplup launced an icy beam at the whirlpool, completely freezing it

"Now use Drill Peck to make a sculpture!"

Piplup, his beak spinning at high speeds, sped towards the frozen whirlpool and began carving the ice. Eventually, it made to resemble a very descriptive picture of him and Meloetta, just standing side by side, smiling

"Wow, that was great Piplup!"

"Pip piplup." He replied, puffing out his chest

"I agree." Spoke a new voice

Dawn and Piplup turned to see Gavin walking towards them

"Why are you up this late, Dawn?"

"I was trying to get in some practice for the contests. Why are you up this late?"

"I just had a few things on my mind and couldn't sleep."

Dawn couldn't help but giggle a little "You and Ash definitely have a lot of differences. Even when he was thinking about something, it didn't stop him from sleeping."

"You'd never guess it, but me and Ash do have more in common than we have differences."

"I guess so. I mean, even your appetites match." She said, laughing at the memory at how much he could hold down during the training period

"At least I don't shovel it down like I haven't eaten in week." He tried to defend himself, turning red at the memories

"True. So, what was on your mind?"

"It's actually rather personal and I would rather keep it that way."

"Oh…" after that, Dawn yawned "I guess I better get some sleep then."

"Okay. Good night."

"Good night."

Gavin and Dawn had walked towards their respective cabins together, but separated about halfway to their cabins. As Gavin laid down on his bed, he thought back to the conversation he had before

_Flashback_

_The sun was setting as he and the others decided to return back to the cabins to unwind and relax for a little while after all the excitement that went on during the day_

_As Gavin began to lie down, his Xtransceiver started ringing. Answering it, he was surprised to see Looker_

"_Hey, Looker. What is it?"_

"_It's actually about your trip to Mesoa."_

"_You heard about it? How?"_

"_I was in Kanto investigating Team Rocket when I decided to stop by Ash's house and say hello, when Professor Oak said the both of you were on your way to Mesoa."_

"_I see…"_

"_Listen, Gavin. Everyone's been talking lately. The Professors, the Pokemon League, even the members of the IP, and M.E.R.E.S."_

"_What's M.E.R.E.S?"_

"_They're an organization that goes againstMesoa's beliefs and has no desire for war with the other 5 regions."_

"_Oh. What were they talking about?"_

"_It's about Mesoa. We've all agreed that we need to try to deal with the hostilities."_

"_But why? The others were the ones who started it. All they did was defend what was theirs!"_

"_Yes, I know, but from what we've been hearing, the Senate is growing more and more out of control and the Royal Family isn't doing anything. What makes it worse is that there have been rumors the Church and Senate have teamed up."_

"_What do you want me to do?"_

"_I need you to find someone from M.E.R.E.S and get them to fill you in. We're trying to prevent them from starting a war with everyone again."_

"_But if they find out someone from the outside is trying to control them it'll spark a war anyway. Why can't we just leave them alone?"_

"_Because Gavin, as it stands they're looking to try and finish what their ancestors started. This isn't up for discussion. You're taking this mission."_

"_But…" Gavin was cut off as the Xtransceiver's screen went black, signifying the call had ended_

_Gavin had only this to say "dammit."_

* * *

**And that's a wrap. I know I said the competition would get underway in this chapter, but right now, I'm still waiting on information from a submitter**

**Hope you all liked the outfits. I did what I could. Iris's new look is from Black and White 2. I just found it to look great on her. No reason she can't travel in that**

**As of right now, OC submissions are closed, and Pokemon submissions are now closed. I want to give a big thanks to everyone who submitted, and a huge one to Twime777 from Youtube who gave me permission to use her ideas for this story. Really, it just saves a lot of hassle**

**The chapters may seem to get shorter, but really, I'm just splitting the original plan into this chapter and chapter 4. **

**Somewhere around 32 OCs is what I have. Why did I cut it down so much? Simple: like Cyclone20 said to me, something I already considered, 128 OCs will just make everything go bat-shit crazy. I can't organize like that, or update 24/7. I've decided to keep it to a manageable amount.**

**After ch4, things should get easier since I'll be writing about events that'll occur during their travels. It'll be like a Pokemon episode, except Ash won't be in every single episode. Some might be shorter or longer than others. I've assembled the teams and they'll be revealed next chapter**

**Favorite this story, or me if you found both enjoyable. Subscribe for future updates on my stories. Remember to read, review, and enjoy. A.M.P 1008, signing out!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello everyone on Fanfiction welcome back to another chapter of Mesoa League: The Ultimate Challenge. As always, I'm your host, A.M.P 1008. In the last chapter everyone had arrived in the Mesoa Region after some startling revelations were made to more than just Ash's group**

**In this chapter, teams we'll finally be selected and we'll get the real competition underway. All of you; prepare for one hell of a long-ass chapter**

* * *

_Chapter 4: Arrival in Mesoa. Let the teams assemble_

It took only two days before the ship docked in a place called "Portwood Town." Everyone had gotten off and the competitors had been directed to the laboratory of a Professor Sugi, where the opening ceremony would begin. Since everyone had about an hour for sightseeing, they decided to look around town and find out a few things about the town itself.

"How about we split up and meet at the lab before the ceremony starts?" said Ash

"Sounds like a good idea. It'll give us time to get details of this place, and maybe even a map for the travels." Said Brock

The groups divided as such: Ash, May, Brock, Gary, Misty, and Tracey. Max, Cilan, Iris, Dawn, and Gavin.

* * *

While Ash's group was sightseeing, they heard something just down the road

"You heard us, fork over everything you have, including your Pokemon, punk!"

"If you don't comply, we'll simply kick your ass and take them by force."

Ash and the others raced to see someone six feet tall with sharp green eyes and short, messy brown hair, wearing a pair of green cargo shorts and combat boots and a white t-shirt with an M1A2 Abrams main battle tank on the front with a pair of fingerless combat gloves.

Ash and the others saw that while he gave no response, he was getting agitated very quickly

"All right then. Time for an ass whooping!"

The first thug tried to throw a right hook, but the victim quickly deflected it with his left hand and threw a punch of his own into the thug's face, which broke his nose and made him fall on his ass

"Shane! That's it, you're dead!"

As he went to charge at his "victim", said "victim" grabbed the thugs face and kneed it and chopped him on the back of his head, knocking him out. The first thug, after getting up, tried to low sweep him, but the would-be victim simply jumped and landed on the thug's stomach with force. As the thug gasped in pain, the "victim" lifted him up by the collar of his shirt and knocked him out as well with a well-placed chop to the head.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked Brock

"I'm fine."

"What happened?" asked Misty

"Nothing. A few idiots tried to mug me for everything, but clearly they didn't think everything through."

"Oh. Well, I'm Ash, and this is Pikachu."

"Pikachu!"

"I'm May, a coordinator, and Ash's girlfriend."

"My name's Misty, and I'm a Water Pokemon Trainer

"I'm Gary, Pokemon researcher and former trainer."

"My name's Brock, and I'm a Pokemon Doctor, in training."

"The name's Henry, and I'm competing in this year's league."

"Same with me." Said Ash

"I'm competing in this year's Grand Festival."

"Great, hope you two wind up on the same team."

"Thanks." They both replied

"So, we still have about half an hour left. How's about we do a little more sightseeing." Brock suggested

"Sounds okay with me." Replied Henry

* * *

The group, now with Henry about, had began walking around a little more. Eventually, they made their way into the forest, which had evidence of a savannah like habitat. Not long after, they came across an unususal Pokemon

The Pokemon stood around 3 feet tall and was purple. It resembled a komodo dragon and had bulbs on its shoulders. It also revealed itself to have a forked tongue

"What kind of Pokemon is that?" Ash asked as he pulled out the Pokedex

_Commo, the Komodo Dragon Pokemon. Newborns live a total of at least 5 years in tree tops to avoid predators. They secret poison gas in the bulbs on its shoulders to ward off enemies and predators._

"Wow. It packs quite a punch for such a small Pokemon." Said Ash

The Pokemon heard the human and turned around.

"Hey there, little guy."

The Commo started hissing and prepared to attack

"Wait!"

Everyone turned to see a man around 5'10 with black hair that was tied at the nape of his neck, yet flowed down to the middle of his back. It also formed bangs around his blue eyes, which actually contrasted with his light colored skin. He seemed faily muscular, and wore a red t-shirt under a white jacket, with blue pants and black shoes.

The man stepped towards the Commo, saying, "Calm down, little fellow. No one's here to hurt you. Just calm down now." in a soothing voice.

The Komodo Dragon Pokémon appeared to ponder the man's words, hissed at Ash and his friends one last time, and slithered away.

Ash, May, Gavin, and the others walked up to the man.

Gavin said, "Thanks for the save."

The man nodded, and started to walk away.

Ash yelled, "Wait!"

The man turned back to look at Ash, looking like he was feeling awkward.

"The name's Ash Ketchum." Ash said, "And this is May, Brock, Misty, Gary, Tracey, and Henry.

Each member of the group gave a collective, "Hello."

The man nodded, then after a grand pause, said, "Tai Ishihara."

Gary then asked Tai, "How did you get that Commo to go away without hurting us?"

Tai, after another pause, responded, "I guess I just know my regions own Pokémon."

'_This tournament is going to be quite hard to win if more Mesoa natives like Daisuke and Tai show up. But, I guess that's what makes it more fun.' __Ash thought_

Tai then said_, "_Well_, _I guess I'll be seeing you in the League. Goodbye, all." He said before walking away.

Henry then remembered "Oh, yeah. I've got to be somewhere as well... See you guys at Sugi's!" before running off.

The group, minus Henry, just looked at the strange turn of events.

Brock then said, "Guys! We gotta hurry! The thing starts in ten minutes, and we've wandered to the other side of Portwood!"

Ash, impatient as ever, yelled, "Well, let's go!"

As the group started to dash off towards the Mesoan professor's lab, Ash thought, '_Here comes Ash Ketchum, Mesoa League! You'd better be ready!'_

* * *

Ash and the others managed to get back to Portwood with a minute to spare

"What happened? You were almost late!" hissed Iris

"We kinda got side tracked and nearly wound up Pokémon food for one of the native region's Pokémon. We were lucky that Tai came by and helped out."

"Attention everyone!" came a voice from the podium

The man was around of average height with gray hair, and stocky. His outfit consisted of a suit with red and white vertical stripes on the chest with red sleeves. His hat, which was a bucket hat, consisted of the same pattern of red and white. His pants were a normal red color, and he seemed to be holding a cane in his hand, though whether or not it was for aesthetics was anyone's guess.

"As your town representative, it gives me great pleasure in starting off this year's Mesoa League!"

At his announcement, a group of people that had gathered, along with most of the competition, started roaring in approval.

"This year's league, as always, promises to be more dynamic than last years. So, without further ado, here are this year's teams."

He then pulled out an orange packaging envelope. He took out a document from said envelope after opening it.

"Team 1 will consist of Ash Ketchum, May Maple, Brock Slate, and Max Maple."

Alright, we're on the same team!" Ash and May yelled in joy as they hugged.

"It'll be like Hoenn all over again." said Brock.

"Yeah, but this time I have my own Pokemon with me." said Max.

"Team 2 will consist of Gavin, M, Dawn Berlitz, and Sierra Scott."

"Looks like we're on the same team." Gavin said to Dawn.

"Yeah. It'll be great."

"I hope it is." a new voice said.

Walking towards them were M and a girl 5'8" tall, skinny yet fit. She had chin length dark purple, almost black, hair that was a little messy. Her eyes were black with white iris's. She had tanish skin and six pack abs. She wore a dark purple hoodie with cut off sleeves and a black tank top underneath. She also wore black denim shorts and knee high black boots. She had three silver earrings in each ear and a nose stud. She also had a scar in the shape of an X across her whole back and a scar across the bridge of her nose that spread to under her eyes.

"Hey, I'm Sierra." she said, extending her hand.

"I'm Dawn." she replied, shaking her hand.

"So, M's your real name?" asked Gavin.

"No, it's short for my real name, something that, at the moment, I'd prefer to keep to myself right now." he replied.

"Okay..." Gavin was a little confused at the moment.

"Hi, I'm Dawn! Nice to meet you." she said extending her hand to M.

"Likewise." he said while shaking her hand. He also gave her a look that one would give to someone they really liked, which irked Gavin a little for some reason.

"The next team will be Ryan, Kirrie, Axis Leto, and Cielia Rovera."

At that, the next group of 4 managed to find each other. The first one having a red shirt, black vest, black pants, messy black hair, glasses, and black/white/red shoes. He was of average height with light gray eyes.

The other one was a short female, only 4'10, wearing a black vest with light blue around the zipper area. She had emerald eyes and was wearing a blue skirt as well. Walking beside her was an Emboar.

The third one was also on the short side, standing only at 5'2. He was wearing a hoodie, though his teammates could see tuffs in the form of cat ears underneath. His eyes were yellow, giving them a cat like appearance. The top of his head was rather spiky, having removed the hood, but it was rather tamed, until it reached the bigger spikes of hair framing his face.

He had a lithe build, and was rather flexible. His body also looked naturally agile. He wore a Dark Brown sweatshirt with yellow sleeves with its hood looking like a kitty's head. He also wore yellow jogging pants with a brown pair of sandals. Finally he was wearing a belt on his waist that contained a lot of pockets. He had a furry, fluffy, dark brown cat's tail that occasionally twitched and moved like an actual feline's tail.

The last one had long black hair, orange eyes, and pale skin. She was 5'3", skinny. She was wearing black and red checkered hoodie, blue jeans, and a red converse.

"Are those real cat ears?" asked Kirrie.

"No, they're just tufts."

"And the tail?" she asked as she tried to grab it.

"Hey, knock it off!"

Kirrie just laughed at the poor boy's misfortune.

_'Wow, she's pretty cute, though the guy next to her must be her boyfriend. I wonder if it's okay for me to "borrow" at some point.'_

What was shocking was it was the GIRL who had the though, not the neko boy.

"Anyway, I'm Axis." the neko boy introduced himself

"I'm Kirrie, and this is my boyfriend, Ryan."

"Hello." he said.

"I'm Cielia." the girl said.

"Alright then. Moving on. Team 4 will be Ryan, Katie Hikari, Ginji Phoenix, and Crystal Serpentine."

The four that were announced had no need to move since they were already in their group along with a few others.

The first was around 6 feet tall with neck length silver hair. He was wearing a leather jacket with a white t-shirt underneath and jeans. Around his neck was a dragon pendant concealed by the black, gang patterned bandana. He wore cowboy boots with a Spanish style to them. He also wore black sunglasses. If you looked at it in the right lighting, you would see his scleras were black and his irises were purple. At his side was a Raichu

The next one was a female around 5'8 with dark blue hair and eyes. She wore a denim jacket over a white t-shirt and uggs, as well as a black skirt. She looked like she could be Dawn's long lost sister. She also wore a wolf necklace.

The third one was male at 5'11 with red hair in a flame like style and eyes. He was wearing a red shirt and jacket, along with black jeans and black sneakers with a flame like pattern on them. Around his neck was a phoenix pendant.

The last one of the team stood around 5'9 with sea green hair and eyes. She was wearing a green shirt with a snake going in a downward spiral motion with the face looking out towards the looker. She was also wearing simple jeans. Around her neck was a serpent necklace.

"Looks like we're on opposing teams this year." Ginji said to Mike, who just gave him an intense look.

"I look forward to finally beating you in this year's tournament, Mike."

All he did was nod back.

"You better not disappoint me when we do meet again Mike. You've shown me your talent from Day 1 as a trainer, so I expect nothing but the best from you and the others." Ryan said sternly.

"I won't disappoint." Mike replied, which shocked the others a little. He always was the silent one in the group and only really spoke when giving out commands in battle.

"Whether we're on the same team or not doesn't matter, Ginji. It'll still be fun for all of us on the end." said Crystal.

"Yeah, besides, it'll give you and Ginji a chance to get closer." A different Sierra whispered to Crystal, who blushed.

"Like you with Mike?" asked/whispered Katie, smirking at seeing the tomboy blushing like an innocent schoolgirl.

"Perhaps you should ask me that AFTER you've gotten to Ryan." she countered, making the bluenette blush.

* * *

The crowd of competitors looked at the group of six after their little talks, not knowing what the hell they were saying, and the natives got a little surprise.

"Is that really the Shadow Dragon?" one spectator whispered.

"Yeah, it is." replied another.

"I can't believe he's competing this year, and with 3 of his friends. Que Suerte (1)!"

"Man, it's gonna be tough for the others."

"Tough, that's an understatement."

Ash and his friends were confused at what was going on with this group. He caught little stuff like "Shadow Dragon" and "one of the strongest."

"What's going on?" Ash whispered.

"I don't know, but from the looks of it, he's pretty well known around here." said May.

"It's the Shadow Dragon." replied a new voice.

Ash and his teammates turned around and saw Tai there.

"Hey Tai, how are you?"

"I'm doing fine Ash, and you?"

"Great. So, what's this about the "Shadow Dragon?"

"You see those 6 right there?" he asked pointing to the group.

"Yeah, what about them?" asked Ash.

"All of them, especially the one with the silver hair, built a reputation for being some of the most powerful trainers out there, even by Mesoa standards. Ryan's been called the Shadow Dragon because of a certain pokemon he has.

"What kind of Pokemon is it?" asked Ash

"It's a Hydreigon, but not just any Hydreigon. It's a shiny one, and it's said to be able to speak human language.

"Woah, you're kidding!" said a shocked Max.

"No, I'm not joking. What's more is that it's rumored to contain partial DNA traces from both Reshiram and Zekrom, enabling it to use their signature moves."

"How is that possible?" asked Brock.

"Sorry, but that would be going into too much depth of their past. You could ask them if you want, but they won't tell you anything. I've tried before, and they just shut me off."

Ash looked towards the group, and Ryan had done just the same thing. They made eye contact and knew one thing was for sure; things were going to be very intense this year.

* * *

"Okay. I understand the surprise, but I do have to continue. The next team will consist of Michael Hawk, Sierra Gonzales, Iris, and Cilan."

The Dragon Master-in-training and the connoisseur looked over to the group and saw a male around Ryan's height completely covered in purple ninja garbs wearing a Chinese umbrella hat and a girl around 5'10 wearing a loose shirt and pants. She had her hair tied up in a ponytail, and had brown eyes.

"Hi, my name's Iris."

"I'm Cilan, a Pokemon Connoisseur."

"The name's Sierra, nice to meet you two."

Mike just continued to look at them, uninterested,

"So, that must be Mike?" asked Iris,

"Yeah, he's Mike. He's the silent one in the group, so you really won't hear him talk all that much." replied Sierra.

"Oh, well I hope we'll be able to get along nicely." said Cilan.

"Probably. It really all depends on how well you can perform."

"Don't worry about that. I used to be a Gym Leader before I decided to join Ash and his friends in Unova."

"So you're one of the outsiders?" asked Sierra, getting a serious look in her eyes.

"Um..." Cilan had no response to the question, and could only swallow the lump that formed in his throat.

Sierra didn't wait for a response and decided to leave, Mike following not that far behind.

"I wonder what could've possibly caused them to become so upset with us." Iris asked sarcastically.

"Heh heh heh. Sorry, I forgot."

"Oh great. Not even 5 minutes as a team and things already look bad."

"The next team will consist of Paul Shinji, Ari Davies, Zoey Nozomi, and Jack-"

He was interrupted by an explosion nearby. As everyone looked towards the explosion, they saw that several trees had been incinerated by an extremely powerful blast of fire, launched by a Charizard from the last aforementioned trainer's party. Jack himself was about 6'4", and looked to be around 18 years old. He had eyes that were a shade of brown that could only be found naturally; in trees, an average build, black hair that was slightly spiked, and tan skin that was hazelnut-colored. He wore a blue, unzipped hoodie on top of a black t-shirt, blue jeans, and black sneakers, and had a Pichu on his shoulder with a mischievous expression on its face.

The town representative glared at Jack, eyes blazing with fury, as he said, "Young man, we do not allow explosions at the Mesoa League's opening ceremonies! Please return your pokemon immediately, before I disqualify you from the League!"

Jack returned his Charizard to its Pokeball before running over to meet his teammates, yelling, "Sorry about that. Just eagerly anticipating the Mesoa League, and I needed an outlet for my energy."

Paul frowned and thought, '_I had to get stuck with losers this year.' _As Zoey, Jack, and another guy with messy brown hair walked up (or, in Barry's case, ran). The third guy, at a height of around 5'9", had a pair of blue go-goggles on his forehead, just above his brown eyes. His clothes consisted of a black t-shirt with a pokeball icon on it, jeans, and a blue backpack.

The new guy said, "Hello. My name's Ari! I'm glad to meet you all!" as he shook everyone's hands. "I'm really glad to be in the Mesoa League! How about we battle to see our skills?" He then pulled out a pokeball and was about to throw it when Jack raised his hand to stop him

He yelled, "Listen, Ari. I know you're amped up as well, but don't make the same mistake I did. We don't want our team to be incomplete for the Mesoa League."

Paul gave a grunt of uncaring, Zoey looked at him oddly, and Ari frowned, sad that he hadn't been able to battle.

After this happened, Zoey thought, _"This team should be quite interesting."_

The representative then read off the next team. "The next team shall be 'Alex,' who, apparently, has no surname, Chase Gasnier, Jen Trinado, and Tim Commadan.

Alex, a guy about 5'7" wearing a white button-up shirt found someone around, age 18, standing at 6'1", wearing a blue sleeveless shirt and blue jeans, black-and-white sneakers, and a green hoodie, sleeping.

Alex said, "Nice to meet you. My name's Alex

Chase replied, "Chase." before falling asleep, still standing up. Alex facepalmed and shook him awake, saying, "Come on! We have teammates to meet!"

Chase woke up as two people walked up to them, hand in hand. The boy towered above most of the competition at a height of 6'3", and had blue hair with cold, icy blue eyes. His blue hair was only kept out of his eyes by a camouflage visor with three claw marks that extend all the way to the edge of the brim of the visor. He had on black-and-yellow headphones that appeared to be playing a background soundtrack to his everyday life. He wore a black, long-sleeved, unbuttoned shirt over a white t-shirt with a tribal design on it. Blue jeans and shoes which were black with blue soles and a yellow flame design on them completed the outfit.

The girl who was walking beside him was about 5'5" with long, sandy blonde hair that reached to the middle of her back. The girl also had very vibrant green eyes which seemed to get darker the lighter it is out.

Alex waved to them, saying, "Hey, guys! You ready to win this League?"

The two newcomers, Tim and Jen, nodded briefly to Alex's statement, as they sat down next to the two boys, as Chase had once again fallen asleep.

Alex, facepalming once again, shook Chase awake furiously, saying, "For Arceus' sake, Chase, wake up! You're going to make a bad impression on our teammates!"

Jen smiled at her boyfriend and said, "Well, having these two on a team is certainly going to make this year interesting."

Tim responded, "Agreed." before sitting back and letting the music take over.

The candy-cane-esque man continued, "The eighth team in this year's Mesoa League will be Dean Cooper, Corey Spina, Desiree "Dez" Clark, and Zero Sage."

Dean thought, '_A pity I'm not on Chase's team this year. But, I bet my team's going to be awesome!' _as he walked over to where his team was supposed to meet. Dean wore army-style cargo pants, a gray sleeveless shirt, and brown boots.

The three people that walked up all came from separate directions. The first, who walked with a Raichu beside him, and was older, was about 5'10", had lightly tanned skin, and looked muscular. His hair was a light brown, but was strangely spiked only in the front. His eyes, a light brown, almost a hazel, seemed to exude an aura of calmness that extended to all around him. He wore a blue shirt with a symbol that proclaimed his love for the game of hockey by the National Hockey League insignia, white shorts with horizontal blue stripes on the edges, and a pair of sunglasses clipped to his waist. The most noticeable article of clothing were his sleeveless gloves, colored blue with a lightning bolt emblazoned on the backs.

The second guy looked to be around Dean's age, but just a little older, wearing a determined expression on his face. In addition to his mindset, he had two differently colored eyes; one blue and one blood-red. He was tall; around 6 feet, and wore blue jeans, a half-white, half-black shirt with the legendary dragons of Unova, Reshiram and Zekrom, on either side. He wore black running shoes, and gloves with another legendary duo: Latios and Latias.

The final member of the team was a girl, around 5 feet tall, with orange hair, with a brown streak just at the front. She had on a light blue tank top under a short-sleeved blazer colored in a darker blue, baggy black capris, running shoes that were also black, and a pokeball dangling from a black string around her neck.

The older guy said, "Well, I suppose this is our team for this year. Congratulations on making it into the Mesoa League. The name's Corey. Nice to meet all of you."

The younger guy said, "Zero's the name. Glad to make your acquaintance."

The girl said, "Sweet! Let's win this, everyone! The name's Desiree, but you can call me 'Dez.' "

Dean finished with, "And my name's Dean. Let's win this all, Corey, Zero, and Dez! We got this!"

Portwood's representative continued once again, saying, "The ninth team will be Jared Marks, Elizabeth and Anya Heart, and Tobias Takuto."

The two sisters in question, Elizabeth and Anya, immediately high-fived and hugged, saying, "Yes! We're on the same team!" at practically the same time. Elizabeth was young to be in the tournament at the age of twelve, but no one really paid it mind since the tournament expanded so much from here. She was a bit small in height in comparison to some of the other trainers there, at 4'2", but her amber eyes outshone them all in determination and spirit. She had bright red hair that was tied into a ponytail, a sleeveless light blue t-shirt with a mermaid's silhouette on the back, and a short green skirt. She wears a Silver Wing around her neck, and guards it as if it had some deeper meaning.

Her older sister, Anya, took care of Elizabeth, as she was seven years older than her. In contrast to her sister's appearance, Anya stood at 5'1", with deep green eyes and long, brown hair, arranged in two curly locks on either side of her face. She wore a black, long-sleeved shirt, short white jeans, a blue-and-white scarf tied in her hair, and a mermaid necklace around her neck.

Just then, another coordinator walked up to them. He looked to be a couple years younger then Anya, and stood at a height of 6'2". He had hazelnut skin, blue eyes and spiky brown hair. He had on a pair of black shorts, white sneakers and a yellow shirt, and had an acoustic guitar slung around his neck.

He walked up to the girls and played a riff or major guitar chords as he said, "Hello to you all. My name's Jared Marks, and it's a pleasure to meet both of you."

Elizabeth said, "My name is Bess, and this is my sister Anya. Nice to meet'ya as well," shaking his hand.

Anya interrupted, "Wait a second... Since we're all coordinators, shouldn't there be a Trainer on our team?"

Jared frowned. "Yeah. Where is... Tobias, I think his name was?"

Tobias, the fourth member of the team, watched patiently from the sidelines, pondering the team he had been given. He came to the conclusion, _'This year's Mesoa League will be a challenge. I can already see so many powerful people: my previous opponent Ash Ketchum, the infamous Shadow Dragon, and I'm sure there are many others, like Daisuke, the one who brought me here. Either way, it's sure to be an intense affair, and it will take all my focus to survive.'_

"The next team shall be Gary Oak, Misty Waterflower, Tracey Sketchit, and Beryl Strange."

Misty, Gary, and Tracey high-fived, happy that they wouldn't be separated from their friends. Misty, however, took a glance backwards at Ash, who was conversing with May, Max, and Brock, when a voice reached out to the trio of Team Ten, saying, "Hello. You ready to win this?" She was a girl with a slightly toned, perfect hourglass figure that stood at 5'4", her curly, strawberry blonde hair extended to barely below her chest, with a fringe swept to the left side of her head. her skin tone was light, but she had only a few freckles on her face. She wore small earrings, white sneakers and a matching strapless, mid-thigh length dress, a purple-and-yellow leather jacket that cut in at the waist, and a matching pair of fingerless gloves.

Tracey asked, "So, I'm assuming you're Beryl? Where are you from?"

Beryl retaliated, "My past is none of your business, and you have no right to know!"

Misty was confused by this strange new girl that had walked in on them, and a little mad. Gary, however, stepped in with, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. No need to get so hyped up... look, we're sorry. Perhaps we just got off on the wrong foot. My name's Gary, this is Misty, and this is Tracey."

Beryl calmed down a bit, saying, "Hello to you all. My name's Beryl. Nice to meet you."

Gary sighed in relief, but then thought, _'The tension is going to be pretty high on this team with both Misty and Beryl... I hope I can keep the peace long enough for friendship to take root.'_

"The next team shall be Tyson Silva, Trentavious Phoenix, Kai Anderson, and Evangelyne Wilde."

Kai stood near where his team would meet, keeping on his trademark smile; he never went anywhere without it. Kai had tannish skin with a good build, stood at 5'8 and wore a plain black shirt with blue jeans. Kai also had hazel green eyes and spiked-up hair.

Again, three people joined Kai, and they must have been the quietest team thus far.

One was 6'3" with long, spiky, grey hair that leaned to the right, as well as steel grey eyes with a lean build with some muscle showing, lightly tanned skin, and a small goatee forming on his chin. He wore an open, black long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows over a light grey t-shirt, a black belt around faded grey pants, and black-and-white sneakers. He appeared to not care about anything as he walked up to the rendezvous point, listening to music with a blank expression on his face.

The second was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a long, button-down black vest. He seemed to radiate an aura of coldness, and the air around him seemed to be several degrees colder than what it really was, although it really wasn't.

The third person was a 5-foot tall girl with blue eyes and hair that was black; all except for the top of it, where it was dyed red. She had a tattoo of a Solrock- No, wait, a sun, on her right cheek, wore a blue t-shirt that had a small white circle on the front, and a black skirt. She appeared to be a calming presence, but had a fire in her eyes that was impressive by any counts.

Kai walked up to the trio and said, "Well, hello, everyone. I'm assuming you're the only ones going in the right direction, because this road leads to the winner's circle. By the way, the name's Kai Anderson. Pleasure to meet all of you teammates."

The first guy nodded, pulling off his headphones long enough to hear Kai's introduction. He said, "Tyson Silva." and looked at the other members of the group, waiting for them to say their names.

The colder guy said, "Trentavious Phoenix. But, I do prefer Trent." in a way that sent chills down everyone's spine.

The only girl in the group said, "Evangalyne Wilde. But Eva would be fine, I guess."

Kai remarked, "Now that we know each others' names, let's get to know each other better with a nice spot of tea." in a British accent. Tyson just shook his head and plugged his earphones back in, although a smile formed on everyone's face.

"The next team will be Tai Ishihara, Katherine Fuller, Eclipse Silverline, and Laura De Vos."

Tai nodded to Ash, saying "See ya round. Got to go."

Ash replied, "Bye, Tai. See you 'round."

Tai walked over to where three people were standing, waving at them as he walked up. As they nodded in return, Tai was able to determine their appearances.

The first was a woman that was around 6'6" with long hair, of a variety of red that could only be described as rust. Her eyes were blue, and, strangely enough, she had a thin scar running down her arm. She wore a red shirt with long sleeves and a pink skirt that reached to her knees and brown boots. She also had an orange headband, a blue poketch, and an orange handkerchief.

The second was only a bit younger than the first, and had emerald green eyes that shone with fierceness. His silver hair was tied back into a sleek ponytail, usually worn by the aristocracy that settled just below his shoulders. His face was politically-shaped; pointed, his skin was tanned, and his figure was somewhat muscular and well-toned. He wore black jeans, which were circled by a black belt, a white t-shirt under a black, unbuttoned, long-sleeved dress shirt, and a pair of cowboy boots. He also wore a pair of sunglasses that seemed "in style" and a black onyx ring with a silver ring band as well as a diamond center, which seemed precious to him. He appeared to glare coldly at Tai before looking at his other teammates.

The third was one of the younger competitors, a girl much younger than most of the other competitors. She looked to be around 12 years old, and had flowing brown-blonde hair. She had a well-toned figure, semi-tanned skin, hazel eyes, and stood at 4'11". She wore a neon purple tank top that was covered by a navy blue, unzipped jacket with a white lightning bolt down the center. She had black shorts and running shoes, as well as a sky blue hairband.

Tai nodded to the trio as the woman said, "You seem to be quite talented. My name's Laura De Vos. Nice to meet you... Tai, was it?"

Tai nodded once again as he looked to the other guy in the group. He snarled, "Eclipse." Before going a short distance away, and generally being antisocial.

Tai frowned and asked, "Is he always like that?"

The younger girl answered, "He's pretty much been like that all day. Well, ever since we met him. My name's Katherine, but you can call me Katy."

Tai smiled, and said, "Well hello, Katy. Nice to make your acquaintance."

Tai reached his hand out to shake her hand, when all of a sudden, Tai jumped back a few feet as a verdant blade of energy slashed the air where his hand was a ssecond earlier.

Katy glared at the pokemon that had attacked Tai; a Sceptile. Surprisingly, the Sceptile flinched in response.

She then scolded the Sceptile, saying, "Marie, haven't I told you not to attack strangers?"

The Sceptile drooped its head in sadness, saying, "Scep-Sceptile..." sadly.

Katy then hugged Marie saying, "I know you only want to protect me, but it's not a wise choice to attack someone without a foresight and a reason. So, try to stay away from that, okay?"

Marie nodded, smiling, saying, "Tile tile-Sceptile." as Katy returned the Forest pokemon to its pokeball.

She then looked apologetically at Tai, saying, "Sorry about Marie... She's been by protector ever since we arrived in Mesoa, and she's a bit tense around strangers, so..."

Tai smirked and gave an understanding smile as he actually completed the handshake this time.

"The next team shall be Kellan Kreiss, Zack Oliver, Tommy, and Kimberly."

Zack, a sixteen-year-old, walked up to his team's designated point. Zack had tan skin, brown eyes, an average build, a mess of black, spiky hair, and stood at 6'3". This trainer wore black jean shorts and a plain green t-shirt under a checkered green-and-black button-up shirt. He had a calm expression on his face as he searched among the crowd for his other team members

However, this calmness was not to last. As he walked up to the meeting place, he bumped into another person, presumably a teammate. He had messy black hair that was almost bluish, which reached almost to his shoulders. However, a tuft of hair protruded over his forehead, and small strands of it also pointed upwards. His eyes were also strange: red, slitted pupils. He also had an oxymoronic slim yet muscular figure, lightly tanned skin, and stood about an inch taller than Zack. He wore a jacket with a raised collar over a blue shirt with a purple stripe at the end of the neck. The jacket was the inverse of the shirt's color scheme; purple with a blue stripe down the sleeves. The raised collar of the jacket had a thin black stripe on it. He also wore blue jeans, purple sneakers with blue laces, and a XTransceiver on his right wrist. He seemed uncaring to everything, which kind of creeped Zack out.

Just then, a voice called, "Hey, Zack!" The Zack in question turned around to see two of his friends, Kimberly and Tommy.

Kimberly was 5'9" and skinny, with a white skin tone, green eyes, and long, curly black hair. She wore a blue-and-black jacket over a pink t-shirt as well as a blue-and-black headband. She seemed to be the most expressive of the group, as she ran up and hugged Zack.

Tommy was also skinny and had a white skin tone, but with blue eyes and spiky blonde hair. Tommy wore a red-and-white hoodie as well as black jeans. He seemed to care about pokemon a lot, but also his friends, as he smirked as soon as Kimberly ran up to hug Zack.

"Well, I'm glad you two lovebirds meet once again, but I'm sure there'll be more time for that later." Kimberly and Zack both blushed as Tommy turned to the new guy. "Since I know everyone else, I'm just going to call you New Guy. So, New Guy, I'm Tommy, and the two people that are obviously in love over there are Zack and Kimberly, respectively."

As Zack and Kimberly's blushes became redder still, The "New Guy" said, "The name's Kellan. Kellan Kreiss. Nice to meet you all."

Kimberly shook Kellan's hand and smiled, saying, "Nice to meet you too, Kellan."

Tommy teased her again, saying, "Well, it appears as if Zack has been left in the dust. Better luck next girlfriend, buddy." Tommy only laughed in a friendly kind of way as Zack and Kimberly's blushes somehow managed to become even redder than before.

Kellan looked around and saw Eclipse. He heard the announcement and was looking for him. After he found him, he saw Eclipse doing something with his Pokegear. Kellan's started to ring after that. He looked at the message that said: "You better not be a disappointment this year, Kellan."

Kellan glared at his rival and vowed he would be the one to take Eclipse down

"The next team shall be Seth Trodaire, a different Zach, Siphon Rayzar, and Maxwell Hendricks."

One of the members of the group was already at the rendezvous point. His name was Maxwell Hendricks, and he was not impressed with the three trainers that were walking up to him.

The first trainer that walked up was 6'3", with a slightly muscular build, although he was big-boned, and had a mass of brownish-red hair upon his head. He wore jeans with a blue shirt under a black jacket, and had black shoes and glasses just over his dark blue eyes. He had a pendant with the legendary pokemon Mew on it as well as a ring of amethyst upon his right hand's middle finger. His skin was lightly tanned, he had freckles on his arms and legs, and seemed like a reserved, quiet person.

The second was of an average height, having Orange hair that was spiked towards the back, and had blue eyes. He wore an orange shirt with an olive green stripe around its middle as well as shorts of the same olive green, and appeared to have quite the passion for battling.

The third stood at six feet tall, looked to be about sixteen years old, as well as slightly tanned skin, an average build, and was slightly muscular. His hair was unexplicably white, which was long and droooped to just below his eyes, which were of an icy blue, with a somewhat misty look to them. Something interesting about this guy was that he had a Japanese symbol tattooed on the back of his right shoulder... I believe it stands for "Honor." He also wore a ring with amethyst on it; except this one had a silver ring band and a white spine. Maxwell made a mental note to keep the two guys on his team with rings of amethyst apart. To solve this, he saw that this guy's clothes were slightly different than the first guy's. His clothes were jeans, and he also wore a black jacket. However, his jacket was leather with gold edgings on the shoulders and arms. This jacket was over a white t-shirt, and he wore heavier shoes/work boots.

Maxwell himself was kind of skinny and had a kind of pale skin tone. He always wore a business suit, and carried a cane with him at all times. He had blonde hair that was slicked back, so that he kind of looked like a business executive, and intelligent blue eyes that reflected his attitude, which was, in fact. quite arrogant and prideful. He was just a hair under six feet tall, and sighed with disappointment at the three trainers that came his way.

Maxwell, said, "Well, look what the cat dragged in. And just who might you be?"

The second boy, with the jet-black hair, spoke up first "My name's Zach. It's a pleasure to meet you." He said, as he stuck his hand out, intended to shake hands.

Maxwell, however, slapped his hand away with the cane. "I do not usually confer with individuals of a lower class, but I suppose I shall make an exception for now."

Zach gave a halfhearted _'Seriously, Dude?' _stare at Maxwell, as if he was so used to being happy that anger was a foreign emotion, shaking his hand in pain.

The two others looked at each other, especially at their amethyst rings. They reached their hands up at the same time, and shook hands. They both nodded to each other, but then realized that there were a few differences which kept them from being complete doppelgangers, such as height and everyday clothes.

The first person spoke up, "The name's Siphon Rayzar. It's nice to meet you."

The third person nodded to Siphon, and then continued, "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Siphon. My name is Seth Trodaire."

Siphon put his hand out again, and Seth hesitantly shook it while Zach was still weakly glaring at Maxwell, who callously stared off in a different direction.

Seth looked towards Eclipse and Kellan and knew one thing for sure: this competition just got a lot more intense for the three of them

"The next team will be Ryan Morgan, James Czar, Henry Green, and Keagal "Kean" Aviatus."

Henry let out a sigh of relief upon learning he would not be on the same team with his rival, Maxwell, so he walked over to the rendezvous point to see what his teammates were this year.

Henry was 18, had short, messy brown hair and sharp green eyes, and was six feet tall. He had an athletic build, but was decently strong. Henry wore a white t-shirt with the M1A2 Abrams model tank on it, combat boots, green cargo shorts, and fingerless gloves. Despite his military appearance, he was really a kind and caring person. Henry also had a genius intellect, but he rarely played that card.

Henry was just about to get to the rendezvous point when he was toppled over by another guy. At first, Henry suspected it was Barry (whom Ash had told him about earlier that norning), but then realized it was someone else. The person who had crashed into Henry was about three inches shorter than Henry, but had a muscular build. He had sky blue hair with whitish tips at the end, which extended to just below his neck. His hair was covered by a dark blue bandanna with the eyes of a Taillow on it, whose "tails" extended to just below his knees. His eyes were of a vibrant red coloration, which could be easily recognized. He wore a white muscle shirt under an unbuttoned sky blue polo shirt. He also wore dark brown cargo shorts, and part of his left arm was wrapped in cloth. He also had a light brown duffel bag, black fingerless gloves and combat boots, a Lunar Wing dangling from a chain wrapped around his right shoulder, and a blue pair of headphones that were shaped like eighth notes.

The other guy literally sprang to his feet and held out a hand to Henry, who took it.

The new guy said, "Well, hello! I'm Keagal Aviatus, but you can call me Kean!"

Henry nodded to Kean and smiled before saying, "Greetings to you as well, Kean. The name's Henry Green. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Kean then pointed in a different direction and said, "Look! More teammates!"

Kean was correct; two more people were walking towards the duo. The first looked to be between thirteen and fourteen years of age, and stood at 3'11". He had brown eyes, was dark-skinned, and had black hair. He wore a blue-and-black shirt under a green jacket, wore red shorts, and had yellow-and-white Vans.

The second person was 6'1" and had blonde hair with reddish tips that, at the front, extended to just below his eyebrows. He wore dark blue jeans that dropped to the heels of his sneakers, which were black and white, with a blue Nike symbol on them. However, he also wore a black sleeveless shirt, over which hung a black "X," which made up the sheaths of two katana blades, which were strapped across his back. He also had lightly tanned skin and on his left bicep was a tattoo of two crossed swords.

Kean waved at the two people, who simply nodded back. as they reached the rendezvous, Kean shook both their hands vigorously and said, "Hello, both of you! My name is Kean Aviatus!" Then, pointing to Henry, he said, "And this is Henry Green! What are your names?"

The younger one was the first to respond. "My name is James Czar. Nice to meet you."

The other person then said, "Ryan Morgan. It's a pleasure."

Henry asked, "Do you ever get tired, Kean?"

Kean, used to this question, responded, "What's tired?" Much to the dismay of the other three, who sweatdropped.

"The final team in this year's Mesoa League shall be a quartet of kids known as Chris, Bill, Platinum, and Jillian."

The quartet of 21-year-olds gave a collective, "Yeah!" upon finding out they were on the same team.

Chris wore a blue shirt, and had a green jacket in his backpack in case it got cold. His hand was intertwined with that of Platinum, who wore a red coat over pink clothes.

Two other people, stood next to each other; another boy and girl. The girl, who was named Jillian, wore the same clothes as Platinum; pink clothes covered by a red coat; but the guy next to her, who was named Bill, wore a backwards cap, as well as red clothes with a blue jacket.

Chris sighed to his team, and then said, "Well, I'm just glad that no girls have tried to make a move on me, seeing that I'm dating Platinum and all."

Platinum agreed with, "Agreed. I really hope that doesn't happen again. It's infuriating, as a girlfriend, to constantly have people trying to take away your boyfriend."

Chris tightened his grip on Platinum's hand, then, as they reached the rendezvous point, pulled her into a hug, concurring with her statement.

Jillian's eyes were glossing over the terrain around her, searching for anything that might be of value. She was a natural-born treasure hunter, and valuable items brightened her eyes, and every new discovery brightened her day.

Bill gazed longingly at the treasure hunter. He thought to himself, _'I love her. I've known that for a while now. But... I guess I'm just too scared or nervous to tell her. I suppose I'll have to someday, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."_

Chris and Platinum continued to hug, clearly enjoying each other's company, while Jillian scoured the landscape for valuable items while Bill's stare at her intensified, showing that he was clearly battling his own emotions.

The town representative smiled at the teams, then said, "Let us all welcome our 16 teams to this year's Mesoa League!" To which the crowd erupted with applause and cheers.

The town representative then continued, "Now, seeing as this is the first year that we have allowed... _outsiders_," he spoke the last word with clear hate, "we are beginning a new tradition about the Mesoa League: a battle of past champions!" The crowd applauded once again, yet the cheers were more vigorous then before. "So, we will ask our teams to be seated at the benches that are now arising from the stadium sidelines." As he spoke, bleachers rose from the side of the court big enough for the 64 people to sit down comfortably. Even Michael Hawk and Sierra Gonzalez, who had walked away upon learning their teammates were outsiders, came back upon the mentioning of two previous Mesoa League Champions meeting in battle.

* * *

"But first, let me introduce the referee for today's battle, Professor Sugi!"

Everyone cheered as the teams looked at the woman rising dramatically from the floor. She had brown eyes and hair, and stood at 5'7". She wore a light blue blouse and navy blue skirt under the standard white lab coat.

Immediately, Brock jumped up to flirt with her, but Max pulled his ear to stop him before he even got away from the bleachers. Ash and May looked at him strangely before he said, "I guess it was just too much at this point. Besides, she's a little old for you, Brock." Brock fell to the floor in "grief" as the rest of his team, Dawn, and Misty just sweatdropped.

"The first Champion shall be... Alexander Stolikov!" The crowd cheered ever louder as a man who looked to be in his mid-thirties arose on one side of the battlefield. He was 5'11" and wore a navy shirt, indigo pants, and had a pair of goggles around his neck. He also had tanned skin and a well-trimmed beard, and if one looked closely, they could see that he had a tattoo of a Drapion on his chest.

"And, his opponent shall be a slightly more recent champion, Samuel Esquane, the Aura Master!"

Everyone looked at him in unison and exclaimed, "Aura Master?!"

He certainly looked the part. Samuel rose at the other side of the coliseum. He stood at about an inch shorter than his opponent and had lightly tanned skin. His hair was brown with gold-and-white streaks running throughout, and he had a semimuscular build. He wore a gold t-shirt with a Dusk Ball emblazoned on the front under an unzipped green jacket with a horizontal white stripe down the center. He also had on dark blue jeans, white-and-black shoes, and sky blue fingerless gloves with an image of a Lucario on each glove. A real Lucario, although it was Shiny, was standing next to him.

He smiled at Professor Sugi, who blushed. Brock frowned in embarassment. however, the others didn't notice, because they just stared intensely at the stadium, ready for the epic battle that was soon to cone.

Professor Sugi went on with the referee's speech: "This will be a best two-out-of-three match. Each trainer will use one pokemon per round. There will be no substitutions. Do any of you have anything to say before the match commences?"

Alexander spoke up, which was a rare occurrence, saying, "Mesoa Pokemon last, since it'll be the most intense battle of them all."

Samuel nodded, saying, "Agreed. Professor Sugi, you can continue."

Professor Sugi nodded at Samuel, and then said, "Is everyone ready?"

The crowd roared in approval and the 16 teams just stared longingly at the battlefield, waiting on the action.

Alexander nodded, and Samuel glowed, for a second, with a golden and green aura before returning to normal.

Professor Sugi continued, "Let the battle begin!" Inciting voluminous applause from all the audience.

Samuel nodded to Alexander before saying, "Show your inner strength! Forward, Joan!" and throwing a Great Ball.

At the same time, Alexander threw his pokeball, saying, "It's your turn! Let's go, Aerodactyl!"

Everyone watched as two pokemon formed from the energy bursts. The first looked like an ancient pterodactyl with a grey-purple body, and had wings, a tail, and many sharp teeth; enough to make any normal trainer shiver in fear. It let out a challenging roar at the other pokemon that appeared.

Samuel's Pokemon appeared like a knight, except much smaller and buglike, even having armor. However, this was no ordinary Escavalier. Instead of the normal silver armor, hers was pastel blue. Instead of red striped and crest, hers was striped gold-and-blue and her crest was gold. It glared defiantly at Aerodactlyl and motioned for its trainer to continue.

Professor Sugi continued, "Aerodactyl vs. Escavalier! Begin!"

"Alright, Joan! Let's start with a Swords Dance!"

The blue Escavalier complied, and several images of swords clashing surrounded Joan as it did a strange dance. Also, Joan's lances got longer and sharper.

"Use Fire Fang!" Alexander called.

_'I see you're not wasting any time, Alexander.'_ Samuel thought as he grinned and thought up a counter... literally.

"Take the hit, Escavalier!"

People in the stands were awed at the risk that Samuel was taking. "That move is Ultra-Effective: Four times the normal damage!"Brock remarked."It'll never survive!" People yelled and jeered at Samuel.

As Aerodactyl, its mouth cloaked in fire, got closer and closer, Samuel's smirk only increased as he said, "Well, I never said she would be taking it lightly. Use X-Scissor to block it!"

The Escavalier's sharpened lances crossed and became covered with Bug-type energy. At this point, Aerodactyl crashed into the defending blades, creating a small explosion.

When the smoke cleared, both attacks were still going on strong. Even with all the momentum Aerodactyl had, it was unable to beat the sheer power of Escavalier.

At this point, Cilan commented, "Interesting. Two powerful Pokemon with their powers practically evenly matched. I'm impressed with the flavor in this dish." Michael and Sierra stared at him in confusion. Iris sweatdropped and said, "You get used to it eventually."

As the struggle continued, Alexander called out to his prehistoric Pokemon, "Aerodactyl! Change from Fire Fang to Thunder Fang to Ice Fang in quick succession!"

Its fangs changed from being cloaked in flames to being surrrounded with electricity to covered in ice once every second; similar to a physical version of the move Tri Attack. Escavalier began to shudder, even with its power. Aerodactlyl eventually had all three elements in its mouth at once, and it appeared that all was lost.

Samuel just smiled and remarked, "Counter."

Escavalier let go of the lance, allowing the Aerodactyl's fangs to hit the Cavalry Pokemon. Then, as it flew over Escavalier's head and turned in midair to go in for another attack, Joan slammed it with a tremendous amount of force; double the amount of damage it took.

Aerodactyl was by no means out yet, however. Alexander called, "Use Substitute!" to him as it flew back to his side of the field. Aerodactyl suddenly vanished, leaving a small, dinosaur-shaped doll in its place. Samuel told Joan, "We can beat this, Joan! Use Iron Head!" Joan complied and charged at the Substitute, its body becoming cloaked in not the normal silver energy, but a pastel blue. The Iron Head attack hit the Substitute, but did not destroy it.

Alexander called out, "Use Rest!" To the Aerodactyl. Samuel realized that he had to beat that Substitute before Aerodactyl was awake again in three turns. He then knew that no moves would do that except for one. Samuel sighed as he said "Alright, Joan! Use Aura Sphere!"

The entire stadium, even his opponent, was in awe. Alexander burst out, "That Pokemon's not supposed to know Aura Sphere! How is this possible?!"

Samuel responded, "All it takes is extensive training, heart, and above all, determination." The Escavalier charged a pastel blue ball of energy between its two lances. "Let me explain." Samuel continued. "This Escavalier is only able to use Aura Sphere because it has been transformed, by me, through a long and extensive process over the years, to utilize Aura. I can only do this because it is tied with Lucario for having the greatest bond with me among my Pokemon. That's also the reason for the alternately colored armor: Her aura is blue, and mine is gold. Thus is the power of Aura."

By now, the orb had grown to the size of Escavalier herself, and Samuel said, "Attack!" The Aura Sphere flew towards the Substitute, and both the orb of energy and pseudo-pokemon exploded, revealing a sleeping Aerodactyl.

Samuel, however, seemed as if some of his energy had been taken away, and was now panting. Alexander asked, "You OK down there?"

Samuel responded, "Yeah. It's just a side effect of the Aura Sphere... takes away a bit of my energy every time Joan uses it."

Alexander nodded, before saying, "Aerodactyl, Sleep Talk!"

Aerodactyl didn't just talk; it released a hypersonic wave at Escavalier. This wave had an unforeseen effect when it made Joan's armor vibrate at a pitch that instantly woke up Aerodactyls, fully refreshed. Professor Sugi looked at Alexander in confusion, who only shrugged, confused as well.

Alexander continued, "Alright, Aerodactyl, use Dragon Tail!" as the Fossil Pokemon swung in with its tail charged with draconic energy.

Joan charged another Aura Sphere itself, seemingly communicating with Samuel by thought alone. Although this Aura Sphere was significantly smaller than the first, it still exploded on contact, effectively parrying its strike from a distance.

They both said, "Use a ramming attack!" leaving it up to the Pokemon to choose. Escavalier, obeying the order, began charging at the pterosaur with an Iron Head. However, Aerodactyl used Smack Down instead, which turned out to be a good decision, as it knocked Escavalier down to the ground.

Immediately, Joan charged another Aura Sphere, bigger than all the previous ones, and looked to be akin to a bomb. Aerodactyl fired DragonBreath, Smack Down, Flamethrower, and even Hyper Beam at the Cavalry Pokemon. However, the Aura Bomb just absorbed the projectile attacks, and evaporated the Smack Down attacks instantly. When it reached a point where it was more than twice Escavalier's size, Samuel said, "Release!" And Joan certainly did, throwing at the flying pterosaur. The Although Aerodactyl nimbly evaded the bomb by mere inches, it exploded once it hit the ground, and Aerodactyl got caught in the blast radius.

After the smoke cleared, the Fossil Pokemon was clearly down, and both Joan and Samuel were panting.

Professor Sugi declared, "And the winner of this round is Joan and Samuel!" And were met with uproarious applause.

At that point, Samuel fell backwards onto the battlefield, exhausted. Professor Sugi ran over to check his condition as Alexander returned his Aerodactyl.

Professor Sugi asked, "Are you okay?"

Samuel responded, "Of course, Sugi. All I need is a glass of water and I'll be good as new." Sugi nodded, and ordered a bystander, which happened to be M, to get him a glass of water. He nodded and ran off to the nearest exit. As soon as M was out of sight, he moved at an almost extreme speed, pouring the water into a cup within milliseconds. He jogged back, not wanting to spill a drop of water. Within seconds, he was back at the arena.

As he gave the cup to Samuel, he also gave him a bit of his energy through the silver aura he possessed. Samuel grinned, nodded to M, and said. "The force is strong in this one," then jumped to his feet, ready to start the next match, as if he had gotten an extra life in a video game.

Professor Sugi walked back to her post as Samuel returned Escavalier, smiling and thanking it for its efforts telepathically.

Professor Sugi then continued, "It's time for round two, everyone!" She was met with more applause and cheers. M mused, "If people keep yelling like this, they'll lose their voices before the battle is over."

Professor Sugi then continued, "Trainers, choose your Pokemon!"

Samuel looked at his Lucario, who shook his head. Samuel nodded and then said, "Vincent! Show the power within yourself!" He threw out a Net Ball, strangely enough.

At the same time, Alexander called out, "It's your turn, now! Let's go, Drapion!" throwing a pokeball as well.

Out from the Pokeballs, two pokemon appeared. The first appeared to be a squid-like creature, with frilly tentacles and a crown-like structure around its head. It also had pale green skin, beady red-violet eyes, and what appeared to be a white mustache.

The second pokemon was what looked like a scorpion, but was about a hundred times bigger, and had four legs and two "arms." It had a long, segmented body, with bulky arms and a tail, with alternate segments in different shades of crimson and pink. It had white fangs and pincers (and tail pincers, surprisingly), as well as sky blue eyebrows and circles on its "hands" and tail.

Professor Sugi was ecstatic about this gathering of Shiny Pokemon. "Shiny Jellicent vs. Shiny Drapion! Begin!"

Alexander called out, "Swords Dance!" Drapion emulated the dance that Samuel's Escavalier was doing earlier, and the same images of clashing swords appeared in the air.

Samuel gave his usual smirk, and said, "Will o'Wisp. Just like we practiced." Vincent nodded and bounced happily in the air, much to Alexander's chagrin.

He called out, "Get on with it already! This is battle, not a game!" He looked around at his opponent, who glared at him. Jellicent then created several tongues of flame around him. He then rapidly spun around in a circle and, to everyone's surprise, the flames joined together, forming a ring of fire. He then said, "Psychic that Ring and do it again!" Jellicent repeated the process until he was surrounded by several fiery rings. Samuel smirked and thought, _'Try getting through that, Alexander.' _

Drapion roared at Jellicent, his pincers now razor-sharp. "Drapion! Use Earthquake!" The scorpion-esque pokemon obliged, slamming its tail on the ground, causing the earth to tremble. Jellicent began to lose its concentration, and rings began to fade.

Samuel yelled, "Quickly! Fire a ring at Drapion!"

Vincent did just that, nailing Drapion in the face and burning it.

Drapion was mad now. Alexander called, "Take your anger out on Jellicent! Use Poison Missile!" The Ogre Scorp Pokemon complied, charging its pincers with cross poison, then firing off its pin missiles throughout the toxin, coating them with the poisonous substance.

Samuel smirked and said, "Acid Armor!" Vincent faded into a small pool of water. As the missiles flew ever closer to the now-liquified Jellicent, Samuel yelled, "Scald! Just like we practiced!" A blast of steaming water flew out of the pool of water and intercepted the missiles, creating another explosion. This time, when the smoke cleared, Jellicent was gone!"

Everyone looked at Samuel in awe, whose smile only grew. "Jellicent isn't completely gone, actually. Use Surf!"

A wave appeared from _behind _Drapion and slammed into the Scorpion Pokemon. When the wave passed by Drapion, it revealed Jellicent, in one piece, several feet above the ground.

Everyone, and I mean _everyone_, looked to Samuel for an explanation. "It's all simple science, people. When Jellicent used Acid Armor, it basically became a pool of water. Then, when it used Scald, it reached its boiling point, and thus turned into an ethereal, or gaseous, form. Its molecules were held together with Psychic. Then, upon using surf, it cooled down again, and thus reappeared."

By then Alexander was amazed and frustrated by his opponent's preordained tactics. "Just battle me without all this magic, Samuel!"

Samuel shrugged, "It's not magic, but whatever. Shadow Ball." Jellicent charged a ball of shadowy energy, then fired it at Drapion.

Alexander countered with, "Fire Fang!" Drapion, its fangs cloaked in flames, chomped down upon the shadow ball, filling its mouth with shadowy energy as well. Samuel cursed under his breath.

Alexander smirked at Samuel and said, "Ultimate Fang!" Once again, Alexander's Pokemon combined the elements of fire, ice, and electricity, except this time, the fangs had ghostly and umbral energy as well (from the moves Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, Ice Fang, Crunch, and the Shadow Ball it absorbed, respectively).

Samuel commanded his Jellicent to use, "Recover!" before the big hit. As Jellicent was restoring his energy, Drapion quickly became mad and Night Slashed it in the face, ending its recovery. Then, it chomped down, and all types of energy, 60% of which were super effective, shocked Jellicent. Immediately, Vincent's happy, carefree self was gone, although he was at very low health. Samuel then urged Jellicent to use, "Giga Drain!" But, sadly, the Floating Pokemon was Paralyzed from the Drapion's Powerful Jaw Strike.

Alexander then saw his opportunity, and called, "Use Crunch, Drapion! End it!" However, when he tried to use it, an apparition of a skull appeared in front of Drapion, stopping it from Crunching Vincent. Samuel said, "That would be Jellicent's Cursed Body. It-"

"I know what Cursed Body does, you auratized freak!" Alexander said, clearly frustrated and angered by Samuel. "Use Venoshock, then!" Drapion fired a shot of a ferocious toxin at Jellicent, who was in pain. A few seconds afterward, Vincent fell to the ground, exhausted. "Vincent!"

Sugi remarked, "The second round goes to Alexander and Drapion!"

Alexander said, "You did good, Drapion. Rest now, okay?"

Drapion nodded and said, "Pi Dra-Drapion," before returning to its pokeball.

Samuel told Vincent, "That was a stunning battle, my friend. Rest easy now, for we have much to do later. Now, though, you deserve a break."

Vincent just nodded before returning to its pokeball.

Professor Sugi then called to the crowd; the teams, especially, and yelled, "You ready to see how we do battles in Mesoa?"

The crowd applauded and cheered, but the teams watched in anticipation and awe, eagerly awaiting the tension to be broken.

Professor Sugi then continued, "Trainers, choose your Pokemon!"

Samuel smiled at Alexander, saying, "You ready, Champion Stolikov?"

Alexander actually smiled before returning the remark, "Of course, Champion Esquane."

Then, they both yelled in unison, "Here we go!"

Samuel then pulled out a strangely colored pokeball, that was a tannish-brown color on the top half and red on the bottom half, with a darker brown divider around its center. "Let's go, Coatlus! QuetzlPter, show your true power!"

The pokeball opened to reveal a reddish-brown, bird-like dragon, with batlike wings and a small amount of plumage at the wingtips. It had a few teeth within its bill, but they were razor-sharp. Its neck, wings, tail, and a crest on its head were ignited with bright red flames, making its crest look like a blazing, fiery mohawk. It had talons that were as sharp as swords, which were situated at the ends of birdlike legs. Its eyes had a look of determination that would not be ignored. It gave out a triumphant roar as it flew circles around the colosseum.

The teams stared in awe at the pokemon for a few seconds. Max then held out its pokedex to the creature. The pokedex happily responded, _'QuetzlPter, the Solar Pokemon. Quetzlpter is the evolved form of Coapter. QuetzlPter is a prehistoric dragon-like creature whose powers rival that of the sun. Its blazing wings and fiery spirit keep opponents on the run from this powerful pokemon.' _

"Cool!" Max yelled.

It was now Alexander's turn. He pulled out a Dusk ball and threw it saying, "Finally; your turn! Let's go, Houndgrim!"

What appeared from his pokeball was a black doglike creature that looked like the fictional hellhound. It had three tails with red barbs on the ends of them and long, spiky ears with an what apeared to be an earring on Houndgrim's right ear. It had three extremely sharp black claws on its four feet, and appeared to have a silver chestplate with a skull emblem on the front. Its "armor" also had a spiked line going down its back and up to its head, where it had, apparently, a helmet, as well as two horns shaped like lightning bolts. It roared with such ferocity that it silenced everyone in the colosseum and scared just about everyone. May held Ash so tightly that she was crushing the air right out of him. As he pulled away, he pulled out his pokedex, which read out the following words:

_"Houndgrim, the Spirit Hound Pokemon. Houndgrim is the evolved form of Houndoom. Many people fear this pokemon, as they believe it brings chaos, bad luck, and even death, making it a very lonely pokemon. However, it is said that its burning steps pave the way for fertile soil, which proves that this so-called demon has a good side."_

Gavin remarked, "Interesting. A battle of two fire-types. Since it's Mesoa, they'll probably have an advantage over each other, but until it is revealed, it should be interesting."

Professor Sugi was excited to see how this last battle would turn out. "QuetzlPter vs. Houndgrim! Battle, begin!"

Samuel started with, "Fire out a flurry of Dragon Pulses, okay?" QuetzlPter complied, and with a roar, it fired orbs of draconic energy at the Spirit Hound Pokemon.

Alexander called, "Houndgrim, dodge with Agility!" Houndgrim gave a howl as it moved faster than the speed of sound, running out of the way of every Dragon Pulse. "Now, use your own multi-attack; Shadow Ball style!" Houndgrim gave its own roar, then emulated QuetzlPter's moves, escept using dark, shadowy orbs instead of the dragon-type ones.

Samuel countered, "Block with Dragon Pulse!" That it did, firing a Dragon Pulse to counter every one of Houndgrim's Shadow Balls, creating a "wall" of explosions. When the smoke faded away, both pokemon were still going strong.

Samuel then yelled, "It's time to take this to the next level! Use Scald!"

QuetzlPter then fired a blast of water _(water inside of a Fire-Type? I'm not going to even try to justify that...)_Which smacked Houndgrim in the face. Although it could not burn the fire-type, it still did some damage.

"Alright! Use Hidden Power, Houndgrim!" Alexander said. Samuel bleakly thought, _'I don't even know what type it is yet... Guess QuetzlPter will have to take a hit... I'm sorry, my friend.' _Everyone watched as the wave of energy suddenly turned into rocks, revealing its type, and smashing into QuetzlPter, damaging it about the same as Coatlus had damaged Houndgrim.

Alexander ordered, "Again, Houndgrim!"

As Houndgrim prepared to fire his Hidden Power once more, Samuel cried out, "Block it with your own Hidden Power, Coatlus!" A similar wave of energy appeared around the Solar Pokemon as Samuel spoke.

The two waves were released at the same time. While Houndgrim's turned into rocks, Quetzlpter's energy wave went into the ground. A few seconds later, plants sprang up from the ground, their vines trapping the rocks and throwing them back at Houndgrim, who easily jumped over it.

Both trainers were, by this point, quite ready to amp up the action yet again. Samuel shouted, "SolarBeam!" Quetzlpter charged energy in its mouth at a faster-than-usual rate, then fired the beam of solar energy at Houndgrim.

Misty asked, "Why do you think it was able to fire a SolarBeam that fast? It usually takes time for that to happen."

Gary answered her, "Well, it's possible that, since QuetzlPter's powers are supposed to be like the sun's power, it's able to charge it on its own energy."

Tracey nodded, and then continued to sketch the two Mesoa pokemon in battle.

Alexander said, "Houndgrim! Dig!"

Houndgrim howled once more and dove underground, narrowly missing the intense blast of solar power.

Samuel said, "Coatlus, aim the beam inside the hole Houndgrim just dug for itself!"

The Solar Pokemon nodded, and focused its energy to fire the blast inside Houndgrim's subterranean tunnel.

Alexander smirked and said, "Wrong move!" Samuel only gave a suspicious look at Alexander before he realized what he had done a second later, and his eyes widened in fear.

"Too late now, Aura boy." he said with pride, "Use Dig at rocket power!" Instantly, Houndgrim burst out of the ground, the power of the SolarBeam accelerating his attack, and slammed into the Dragon-type at about mach-2, knocking QuetzlPter to the ground.

"Quetzlpter!" Samuel yelled in anguish.

Professor Sugi sadly continued, "And the winner is-"

Professor Sugi was interrupted by a stentorian roar from QuetzlPter, who had rose to its feet. The flames on its crest, tail, wings, and neck had rose to about twice their normal height, and its eyes were blazing with red energy. "Qutezlpter!" it yelled ferociously.

"Ah, you activated Blaze. Nice work. QuetzlPter, show this guy a Draco Meteor, Okay?"

QuetzlPter roared again and fired a flaming comet into the air. A few seconds later, a fiery meteor shower came down and smacked Houndgrim in several places, doing a large amount of damage. "Now, Fiery Dance!"

Quetzlpter danced around in a circle around the Spirit Hound Pokemon. Even the already blazing hot Houndgrim was sweating. The heat was so intense that the sand in the colossseum around Houndgrim turned to glass.

Everyone except Samuel stared in awe, their jaws dropped at Quetzlpter's astounding power.

Alexander, however, had had enough. "Use Hyper Beam!"

Samuel remarked, "Dodge with Flare Blitz!" as Houndgrim fired an extremely powerful beam at Quetzlpter. However, Quetzlpter's body became coated in flames, and it flew out of the way with astounding speed. As soon as Houndgrim was unable to move, it lands on the colosseum floor and rests, awaiting the next move.

Houndgrim, enraged by this point, uses Sludge Wave at the Solar Pokemon. However, Quetzlpter countered with a Heat Wave. The two waves of energy collided, and both disintegrated on impact, leaving both none the worse for wear.

All of a sudden, though, Quetzlpter began glowing in a fiery red light and appeared to relax, as if it was absorbing energy like a solar panel. Samuel was the first to realize, "That was Morning Sun! Yes!"

Houndgrim looked tired and exhausted from the extensive battle, and Alexander didn't dare use Rest, because he knew that Samuel 's Quetzalpter could easily beat Houndgrim in the two turns that it would be asleep.

So, he commanded, "Use Reversal!" figuring that it would be pretty powerful by now.

Samuel countered with, "One-Shot Dragon Pulse!" Quetzlpter charged an extraordinarily large Dragon Pulse in its beak, and blasted Houndgrim with the orb, stopping its charge.

Samuel decided, "It's time to finish this! Use Dragon Blitz!"

The audience watched, perplexed, as Quetzlpter fired a Dragon Pulse into the air, then, as it was falling back to earth, Quetzlpter used Flare Blitz through the Dragon Pulse, covering the already powerful pokemon with an even stronger attack.

As Quetzlpter began winging its way towards Houndgrim, Alexander knew he was out of options. He yelled, enraged, "If I'm going down, then you're going down with me! Houndgrim, use Skull Crash!"

Houndgrim 's body was immediatelt enveloped in an umbral, spooky energy that manifested itself around the Spirit Hound Pokemon, and it charged at Quetzlpter. As soon as the two attacks made contact, they were struggling for supremacy. As soon as one Pokemon has the edge, it lost it to the other. All of a sudden, a huge explosion occurred, with both skulls and bursts of dragonified flame flying out from the rubble.

The explosion was so powerful that both trainers were knocked back into the wall behind each of them. When both trainers could see again, they saw that both Quetzlpter and Houndgrim were knocked out.

Professor Sugi stared for a minute before responding, "This round ends in a tie. Thus, this match is a tie! Now, let's hear it for our champions!"

As the crowd and Mesoa League teams applauded vigorously, Alexander and Samuel walked up to each other and shook hands.

Alexander commented, "That was probably one of the most intense battles I've had in my entire life. It was a pleasure to battle you, Aura Master."

Samuel smiled, his smirk gone, and replied, "It was indeed a great battle. Hopefully, we can settle the score someday?"

Alexander nodded and smiled, then walked out of the stadium.

Professor Sugi walked up to Samuel and impatiently said, "Can we leave yet?"

Samuel replied, "Not yet, Sugi. Just one more thing, though."

He walked up to the teams and said, glowing with his Aura, "Okay, I need to speak to you three for a minute." As he said this, three "tendrils" of Aura flared out from him and alighted on Ash, M, and Zero Sage.

They all shrugged and walked out to the side, following Samuel. As soon as they were out of earshot, Samuel said, "Hello, brothers in Aura. Nice to meet you all." After Samuel spoke, they began to glow with Samuel's Aura, which sharpened their senses sonehow. "I am one of the few Aura Masters and, being the chivalrous person that I am, decided to help you in the Mesoa League.

"How, you might ask? Well, I have here three Pokemon eggs. I will set them here on the table, and their Auras will call out to you, revealing your choice.

He set the three eggs on the table. Immediately, Ash felt a pull towards the second one. Ash looked around, and could see that they were all feeling the same thing.

They walked up as one, and each grabbed the Pokemon egg that felt right to them.

M grabbed the Pokemon egg on the far right, which was a tannish-brown color and had a red stripe near the top. Zero grabbed the egg on the far right, which was line green with several wavy white lines. Ash took the egg in the center, which was red and black, with sky blue spots.

"Well, I 'd best be off, young ones. I'm fairly sure we shall meet again, so good bye, future Aura Masters." Samuel then ran off at top speed away from the trio, who stood there for a second, confused, before walking back inside.

* * *

As Ash sat with his team, May asked, "What was that about, Ash?"

Ash replied, "He just recognized us for being able to bend Aura is all."

May eyed him suspiciously. "Something tells me you're not telling the whole truth."

Ash sighed. "I'll tell you all about it later; Okay, May?"

May nodded. "Okay, Ash. I trust you."

Professor Sugi then said, "Thank you all for attending this year's Mesoa League opening ceremonies! The Mesoa League is starting bright and early tomorrow morning, so be ready! Thank you all, and good luck!"

The crowd applauded once more before everyone left the stadium, anxiously awaiting tomorrow, which would be the first step in their amazing, new adventure in Mesoa.

* * *

**And that is a wrap for this chapter. Commo is property of Vaynard. Houndgrim is property of Twime777, and Quetzlpter is property of Emerald Dynamo**

**Que Suerte-What luck**

**Put it simply, here are the authors who are the same team**

**2. PichuAuraGuardian18, Emerald Dynamo, Breekitty**

**3. Sleep Arypsure, Fanfiction360, I'm My Own OC, Meteorthunder3**

**4. All mine**

**5. Again, mine**

**6. PandarianMist, TravelingMaster**

**7. thatperson23, Lightningblade49, Tbroome535**

**8. Ahkalia, Lightningblade49, Cyclone20, GhostHuntingLuxray456**

**9. Elinea, TravelingMaster**

**10. eonhunter357**

**11. ItsSuperEffective, Trentavious Phoenix, Barrett M107, owner of Evangelyne**

**12. KingFatMan25, ZAFT Prime, KCNederland, owner of Katherine**

**13. Tendou Souji, White-Falcon-06**

**14. Sol21, Titanic X, Siphon 117, TheUltimateEevee**

**15. Lightningblade49, Titanic X, nintendosegapokefan, Meteorthunder3**

**16. God People**

**The teams have assembled, and some seemed to hit it off better than others. For those of you who don't remember, Ryan, Katie, Ginji, Mike, Sierra, and Crystal made appearances in Pokemon League of Ultimates, though Katie was Hikari, Ginji was Infierno, and Mike was Kaze**

**I have officially found a new writing partner in this; Emerald Dynamo. After struggling with writer's block, and cold, he offered to write out the chapter. Really, man I owe you one for this. BTW, the Star Wars thing was his little input. Wasn't really a big fan of the series myself so…yeah**

**Anyway in the next chapter, the teams will begin their journeys starting with Ash's team, and then going in numerical order of introduction**

**Remember to subscribe to me and more for future updates. All flames shall be dealt with one way or another. Remember to read, review and enjoy**

**I'm A.M.P 1008, signing out!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of Mesoa League: The Ultimate Challenge. In the last episode, everyone was divided into their teams, and while some teams hit it off nicely, tension couldn't have been more obvious with other teams.**

**In this episode, finalizations will be made with everyone, and we'll FINALLY get this damn thing started, beginning with Ash's group**

**Also, if anyone wants/needs any changes, speak now. Cause after your team is posted, that's it. No more changes will be made to anyone's character. At all**

* * *

The next morning found everyone in attendance with their respective teammates. There were still a few things that needed to be taken care of before everyone could set off for their journeys.

"Hello everyone. I'm glad to see everyone in attendance for this. I have some important information all of you must be made aware of, before you go off on your journey." Stated the town representative

Everyone was listening with keen interest at this, especially those not from around here, since they had no idea what was out there.

"First, and foremost, I must warn everyone here to be _very _careful where you walk, and what you do. Many tribes of Pokémon will attack first and ask questions later. This is due to them being quite territorial about their habitats."

At that, Ash and his friends recalled about how many Pokemon played executioner to their enemies, and how their land was being taken from them. Guess that turned them a little paranoid about it happening again

"As for this next piece of information, this one you _cannot, _under any circumstance, break or forget."

Just from the seriousness in his voice, the non-natives could tell it was a "do-or-die" message

"Stay away from Dragon Valley if you wish to keep your lives."

They could all guess that, just from the name, that it was a _valley, _inhabited by Dragon types and Dragonesque Pokémon. The only real question was why it was deadly to everyone.

Everyone had started to whisper amongst each other, asking questions and spreading strange rumors.

* * *

"Why's Dragon Valley so terrifying? Asked Iris

"It's because of their behavior." Said Sierra

"Huh?" Iris and Cilan asked at the same time

"Five years ago, the Pokémon just suddenly went berserk and began attacking anything that didn't resemble a Dragon, or live there. The local village has been trying to deal with it, but had no success. If it wasn't for the fact that they began fighting with the mountain range Pokémon, that village would've been destroyed on Day 1." Said Sierra

"Oh. But there has to be a reason for that. Pokémon don't just go berserk like that for a reason, especially Dragon types!" said Iris

"If there is a reason, no one's been able to find a good enough one. Everyone's been too afraid to go to the heart of the valley."

"Did anyone die?" asked Cilan

"Not that I'm aware of, though I have heard of both people and Pokémon getting seriously injured."

"Oh." Replied Iris, looking a little depressed

"Why so depressed?"

"It's just that I've always strived to become a Dragon Master, and while Dragons get territorial, I've never heard of one hurting others without some kind of reason."

"Well, whether or not that's the case, we can't take the risk on the matter. For now, we stay away." Sierra said with no room for argument

* * *

"The last thing I want to address are a few necessities for your journey." The town representative finally spoke

Everyone ceased chatting and decided to listen

"What I have here is where all your badges and ribbons shall be placed." He said pointing towards a metallic cylinder in his hand.

The cylinder was about half a foot long, with thick metal rings on both ends, just and inch below, going around it. At the top and bottom was a blue marble like part, which was placed in the center of the device. If one looked at it enough, they could tell that one of the rings was longer than the other

"This device here will act as a badge/ribbon case. It's necessary because with every badge/ribbon collected, the marble placed at the center will light up, and reveal a piece of a map. After collecting a certain number of badges/ribbons, the location of the Mesoa League/Grand Festival is revealed. And before any of you get any ideas, regular maps won't give you the location. Only these specialized maps will guide you only _after _you gained all the necessities."

"So, it looks like they're doing everything they can to make sure we abide by the rules." Said Laura De Vos

"Doesn't matter. We'll still be the winning team." Said an enthusiastic Katy

"Hopefully this will be worth my time." Muttered Eclipse, recalling how he even agreed to this.

He was, by no means, a fan of Pokemon Leagues. Ever since he won the Sinnoh League, on his first try no less, he believed they were a waste of time and only for the weak that enjoyed being "showoffs." He didn't mind the Battle Frontiers, since the brains were said to rival the Elite 4's power, and they weren't aired on TV. He absolutely hated the media!

Daisuke just popped out of nowhere and badgered him to enter the Mesoa League. Of course, when he challenged him to a battle, he of course, would do everything to crush Daisuke and shut him up.

His plan went very, _very _astray

Daisuke beat him 2-out-of-3, and didn't even treat it seriously. It was like Trainers of his caliber were nothing to Daisuke. He mocked him in every way, and he vowed that Daisuke would feel humiliation by his hands.

'_Damn that man! Damn him to hell!'_

* * *

After everyone got a container for their team, they all regrouped and lined up. They also received a traveling bag, containing a map

"Now, there's only one thing left to do." The representative said, gesturing to Professor Sugi

She nodded, and threw out a pokeball. From the pokeball came a detached head with a blue bill and a red horn like structure on its head. Its eyes were all yellow, minus the black circle and pupil. Its body had two blue, wing like structures and a blue tail pointing downward, at the bottom of the body. Porygon-Z

Other aides that were there also threw pokeballs into the air, and different types of Pokémon appeared.

One of them was bipedal with a pink body and red and white collar. On its head was a crown like structure with a red gem on it. It was a Slowking

Another Pokémon that appeared was human-like in appearance with a large moustache. Its body was of average height, and mainly tan in color, with brown over its forearms and knees. On its feet were three toes, all of which ended in white claws. Its ears were somewhat foxlike, and it was holding a spoon in each hand. It was an Alakazam

Other pokeballs followed suit, some of them being either previous evolutions, or in Slowking's case, counterparts. A few Starmie and Meditite also appeared. In total, 16 Pokemon that were either Psychic types, or had psychic abilities, appeared.

"What's with all the Psychic pokemon?" asked Max

"The purpose of all these Psychic types is for the purpose of teleportation." Replied the representative

Everyone had confused looks on their faces

"The current champion of Mesoa pitched in an idea where the teams would be teleported to randomized locations all over Mesoa. Before anyone gets any ideas, or is concerned, no one will wind up in a deadly location, such as a volcano, or Dragon's Valley. Just as a precaution, though, if you happen to wind up near a mountain or a forest, make sure you don't do anything to agitate the Pokémon. They can be quite territorial."

Almost everyone was confused at who the current champion, but seven people there knew who it was

'_Of course that jackass would think of this. He really is a pain in the ass!' _all seven thought at the same time

Said person sneezed at the same time as the thought also

'_I wonder who's talking about me this time.' _The individual thought

* * *

As soon as Ash could see again, he found himself, May, Max, and Brock in the middle of a forest. He rubbed his head, which was still somewhat off from the teleportation. He got up slowly, and ran over to his friends, who were still sprawled out on the ground. He recalled the Pokemon egg and checked his bag, to find it completely unharmed

'_Whew, glad it's okay.'_

"May? Brock? Max?"

As it turned out, Brock woke up about a minute later, albeit startled that Ash, of all people, was the first to recover.

The two guys walked over May and Max and managed to shake them awake, despite coming out of it bruised.

Brock pulled out the map. "We should attempt to orient ourselves."

Max nodded. "Yeah. That's definitely the best option at this point. That way, we can find the closest Gym or Contest hall and head there."

Ash sighed. "Who packed the food?"

Brock laughed. "I did; don't worry; and lots of it, thanks to you two."

"Thanks," they both muttered while blushing from embarrassment. Max just laughed.

At that moment, they heard several voices.

"Keep quiet, you bumbling simpletons!" one said

"But we finally have it. They's appeared right in front of us, too; lucky us!" said another, more recognizable voice

"Pika Pipichu!" was the third give away

Ash instantly jumped in the direction of the voice, with his friends following them. What they saw wasn't a complete surprise, but they were still shocked. They saw their familiar foes; Team Rocket, who were wearing red uniforms with black "R"s in the center, and another person who looked as if he was an assassin. He was significantly calmer than the familiar trio; in fact, the man smiled.

"So, they have arrived. Took them long enough."

Ash was enraged. "Just who are you?"

The man smirked. "My name is Ven. It's a pleasure, Mr. Ketchum."

May then started yelling at him. "Just who do you think you are?"

She would have ranted more, but the man pointed his handguns at her, immediately silencing her.

"Stay out of this, and you'll make it out alive. All I want is Ash, and we have his Pikachu to do it."

Ash scowled at him. "You have an unfair advantage over me. Put away the guns and fight me Pokemon to Pokemon!"

Ven's smirk grew as he returned the handguns to their holsters. "Battling me without your precious Pikachu? Ha! You don't stand a chance!"

Ash glared at Ven. "We'll see."

Ven laughed before saying, "Go, Salamence!"

The mighty pseudo legendary dragon of Hoenn appeared before Ven, roaring with pride.

Ash was raging at this point. Not only had they taken Pikachu, but now they had a pseudo-legendary for backup. This was not good.

_Well, I'd better make the best of things, _Ash thought.

"Let's go, Torterra!" His Torterra appeared and immediately growled at Salamence, angered that it was guarding Pikachu.

Ven raised an eyebrow. This battle would be interesting.

Ash took the first move. "Use Earthquake, Torterra!"

The Continent Pokemon slammed its front feet into the ground, causing a shock wave that blasted towards Salamence.

Ven merely smirked. "Dodge it by flying, Salamence; then use Dragon Pulse."

The legendary dog jumped into the air, effectively evading the earthquake, then fired a ball of draconic energy at Torterra.

Ash smirked. He had prepared for this. "Leaf Storm!"

The turtle-like pokemon obeyed, shooting thousands of leaves at Salamence, hitting it while in the air and also destroying the Dragon Pulse.

"Use flamethrower to counter!"

The dragon fired a stream of fire at the storm of leaves, which not only burned them, but provided Salamence with a make-shift smokescreen.

"Use Hyper Beam, now!"

A large blast of orange-yellow energy was shot down from the sky, eliminating the smokescreen, and hitting Torterra hard

"Torrrrt!" it cried out in pain

"Torterra!" Ash yelled in concern

The Continent Pokemon was hit hard, but it was still standing

Ven was impressed and frustrated at the same time. _So that's why he's revered as a powerful trainer._

"Use Hydro Pump!"

Ash was a little surprised by the command of attack, but figured his Salamence inherited from a parent.

A large jet of pressurized water was launched from the Dragon's mouth towards the land-turtle

Ash was not going to wait for that Hydro Pump to hit it, and decided to counter

"Grass Pledge!"

A column of vines and verdant energy shot from the ground in front of Torterra, colliding with the Hydro Pump. The water and grass mixed and it resulted in a swampy mix, which was still headed for Salamence.

The attack it Salamence head on, blinding it

"Now, use Rock Climb while it's still blind!"

Torterra raised its two front legs and a small hill rosed from the ground, with Salamence at the top. Torterra began to race towards the still blinded dragon

"Wait for it to approach you, then use Ice Fang!"

"Jump now Torterra!"

"What?!"

Just as Torterra was within distance of the Ice Fang, it somehow managed to jump up and over Salamence. Then, Torterra threw its body weight into falling right on the Dragon-type

"Use Leaf Storm to propel yourself to the ground!"

Doing as instructed, the leaves from the tree on Torterra's back fired upwards to increase the rate at which Torterra plummeted to the earth

"Use Dragon Claw, maximum power!"

Not willing to go down without a fight, the dragon put everything it had into this attack. They collided, kicking up a _lot_ of smoke.

When it cleared, it showed both Pokemon looked worse for wear, but Salamence looked even worse off. It had scrapes, cuts, bruises, and one of its wings had obvious damage to it. It was struggling to stand on its legs, and when they did move, it showed that it was limping

Ash was hesitant now, since it was plainly obvious that Salamence was in great pain.

"I'll stop hurting your Salamence if you give me back Pikachu."

Ven shook his head in disgust. "Only cowards give up! Salamence, use Dragon Claw!"

Salamence flew as fast as it could with its injured wings. However, it did give Ash time to counter. "Use Energy Ball!"

Salamence was slammed with the ball of verdant energy and knocked backwards.

* * *

By now, Jessie and James were getting a little antsy.

"Just end it now!" Jessie yelled

"Maybe youze should go help him battle against the twoip, then!" he yelled at the two, tired of their whining. Meowth then pushed the two forward, resulting in them falling, rubbing their heads.

When they got up, Jessie smirked. "Finally, some action! Go, Seviper!"

The snake-like Pokemon gave its signature call and hissed at Torterra.

James shrugged. "Alright! Go, Amoongus!"

The poison/grass Pokemon called out its name and landed next to its partners-in-crime.

With three Pokemon staring down at him, Torterra was more than a little frightened.

"That's not fair! Blaziken, go!" May yelled

May's starter Pokemon appeared, its wrists flaming.

"Don't forget about me! Let's help out, Gallade!" Max called out

The Psychic-and-Fighting dual-type extended its arm blades and glared at its opponents.

"You're not going to win this, Ven. Just give us Pikachu back and we'll both live to fight another day." Said a smirking Ash

Ven scowled back, but returned Salamence anyways. "I look forward to that."

"Release the Pikachu now!" he yelled at Jessie and James

The trio shook their heads, clinging to Pikachu's cage for dear life.

"This is our chance to get a better position in this cruel world. This is our one shot for greatness." Said Jessie

Ven took out his handguns. "It's also what it will take to end you, too."

The trio cowered in fear, opening the cage. Immediately, Pikachu sprang out and ran to Ash, jumping into his open arms.

"Pika Chupi Kachupika!" it yelled joyfully

Ash smiled, hugging Pikachu close. However, he glared at Ven. "I suggest you leave now, before things get rough."

Ven returned the glare, but smirked. "Trust me, this will not be the last time we meet, Mr. Ketchum."

Ven threw another pokeball and revealed a Krookodile. Compared to Ash's, this one was definitely bigger, and also older

Before anyone could do anything, a sandstorm kicked up, and in the blink of an eye, they were gone

Everyone there decided to recall their Pokemon at that moment

* * *

"Who was that guy?" asked Max

"Most likely someone Giovanni hired to get Pikachu from me." Said Ash

"Yeah, probably, but did anyone else notice something was off?" asked Brock

"Like what?" asked May

"The way Ven acts. He a lot like Daisuke acted."

"The moment Brock said that, Ash, May, and Max could recognize the similarities between the two. The smirks, cruelty, even their escape methods were alike

"Do you think they're related?" asked Max

"I honestly don't know that, Max. Though, I can't help but feel like they have met before."

"Well, it doesn't matter now. We have Pikachu now, so let's get going!" yelled Ash

"Pika pika!" the yellow mouse yelled as well

Brock was quick to shush Ash. "Remember the part about not disturbing Mesoa Pokemon? We're not supposed to yell."

Unfortunately, Brock's warning came too late, as an unfamiliar Pokemon barrel rolled straight into Ash and Pikachu, afraid of the noise.

Ash and Pikachu were thrown backwards, with the strange Pokemon on top of them. Ash and Pikachu got up, rubbing their heads in pain, to see a pokemon about Pikachu's height. It had a black body with a white head and small, pale wings. Its black beak was open in surprise and its white talons gripped the ground, unfazed. Its black eyes with pale blue irises glared at Ash, shrieking.

"Skreeeee?!"

Everyone jumped back, startled by the sound. Ash managed to pull out his pokedex, which read basic info on the pokemon.

_"Skreechik, the Shrieking Pokemon. Skreechik is filled with shadowy energy which can be expelled as a defense mechanism. Its cries are said to cause nightmares to all that oppress it."_

Ash nodded and walked up to the Pokemon. "Hey, little guy. I'm sorry I scared you."

The Skreechik huffed and pecked Ash's head.

"Ow!" He said, rubbing the sore spot.

May was enraged at the little bird, and was going to scold it, but it suddenly shrieked with unholy fervor and a dark purplish energy blazed from its wings and head. The unprecedented screech threw May off-balance, and she fell backwards into her brother, leaving them both in a heap on the floor.

Brock had been studying the small bird Pokemon, and came to a conclusion

"Ash, I think this Skreechik wants to battle you."

Ash, invigorated by the notion of a battle, jumped to his feet.

"Is that it, Skreechik? Do you want to battle?"

Skreechik nodded, forming what could only be traced as a smile on its beak. "Skree!"

Ash nodded. "Alright! let's go, Pikachu!"

Pikachu jumped forward, which was met with a loud shriek from Skreechik, causing both trainer and Pokemon to cover their ears in pain.

"Pikachu! Thunderbolt it!"Ash managed to yell through the scream

Pikachu uncovered its ears for a moment, charged electricity on its cheeks, and shocked Skreechik with energy, stopping its piercing cries.

Ash smirked. "Now, Pikachu; Volt Tackle!"

Pikachu charged itself with energy and ran towards Skreechik, who had apparently been paralyzed by the previous Thunderbolt.

Pikachu collided with Skreechik, knocking it back into a nearby tree. Afterwards, to the surprise of everyone there, Skreechik began to cry.

Ash ran over to it. "Skreechik! I'm sorry. Are you alright?"

Brock and the others ran over as well. Brock looked at it for a moment.

"Though I'm not exactly the expert on Mesoa Pokemon, I'd say that this Skreechik was only hatched a few months ago, and is still very weak. And, knowing Mesoa's worldview, I'd say that it wants to be strong as soon as it can. So, it's crying because it's being beaten by you."

Ash looked at Skreechik with an air of pity. "Is that right, Skreechik?"

Skreechik reluctantly nodded.

Ash smiled. "Well, Skreechik, how about you come with me on my journey throughout Mesoa? That way, you can become really strong!"

Skreechik formed a smirk on its beak and blew Pikachu backward by flapping its wings.

Ash smirked as well. "If I win, then. Okay?"

Skreechik nodded. "Skreee!"

Ash called, "Alright, Pikachu! Use Iron Tail!

Pikachu ran up to Skreechik and prepared to slam its metallified tail into Skreechik when Skreechik shrieked once again and ghostly energy shot out from its head and wings, causing Pikachu to jump backwards in surprise.

Ash smiled. "Alright, then! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu charged its energy and shot it at Skreechik, which hit the young Pokemon, resulting in it collapsing.

Ash smirked. "Pokeball, go!"

Ash threw the orb at Skreechik, which took it in in a burst of red energy, falling to the ground.

The Pokeball shook once...

Ash looked on in desparation. He wanted Skreechik on his team.

The Pokeball shook twice...

May, Max, and Brock stared on, anxious.

The Pokeball shook a third time...

Everyone was nervous.

Then, the Pokeball stopped shaking.

Ash grabbed the Pokeball and held it up high. "All right! I caught... a Skreechik!"

Pikachu was overjoyed, and sprang into the picture. "Pi Pikachu!"

All of a sudden, the Pokeball disappeared in a flash of red light. Ash looked confused, but Brock, as always, knew what was going on.

"You already have twelve Pokemon, Ash. It was sent to the PC. You can receive it when we get to the closest town."

Ash nodded, anxious to get to the next town.

"Alright! Let's go, then!"

Ash's stomach rumbled, however. "Right after lunch."

The group laughed as Brock began to pull out cooking materials.

* * *

Gavin's group seemed to have a better time with things than Ash's group. For one, there was no bounty hunters waiting for them. Second, no screeching Pokemon were attacking them. Third, they wound up in the outskirts of a town with a Pokemon Gym

"Wow, I can't believe our luck." Said Gavin

"Yeah, what are the odds we'd wound up near a town, with a gym no less!" said an enthusiastic Dawn

"It seems we got the lucky draw from the lot." said M

It seemed like Sierra was the only one who knew why they got the lucky pick

* * *

_Flashback_

_The battle between the former champions was definitely something to behold to the spectators. They watched in complete awe and admiration at the two battlers. Sadly, it ended far too quickly for everyone's tastes, and it had been getting late, so everyone either went to the Pokemon Center, or to the lab due to the large numbers._

_Sierra Scott was just about ready to crash and sleep the night away, merely deciding on shorts and a t-shirt to sleep in, when she heard something. At first, it seemed like nothing, but after a few more minutes of hearing the same sound, she discovered it came from her window._

_Looking out, she saw a man wearing a black hoodie and pants and had red eyes. The giveaway was the Gliscor popping up from out the hoodie._

'_What does this idiot want now!' Sierra mentally whined. She was all set and ready to sleep_

_Deciding not to waste time, she simply jumped out the window and landed in front of him. When she looked up, he wasn't there._

'_I swear if he's pulling another prank on me, I'll…'_

_She never finished her though since an arm wrapped around her and the other one was giving her a noogie_

"_Well, well. It looks like little Sierra's finally playing in the big leagues. Hope you'll be able to keep up with the big kids now." Daisuke teased_

_Tired, annoyed, and on the verge of a migrane, she smashed her foot on his, which manged to hurt, and caused him to loosen his grip. Taking the opportunity, she threw a punch to his stomach and used her bodyweight and momentum to throw him to the ground_

"_Serves you right for doing that, asshole!"_

"_What, can't I say hello to one of my favorite trainers every now and then?" he groaned out_

"_Not when I'm ready to go to bed." _

"_Ugh…who taught you to do that, cause I know I didn't."_

"_It was Luze, of course." She said smirking_

"_Figures. I swear both of you will give me grey hairs before I'm even 27."_

"_Quit your complaining."_

_Gliscor decided to leave his trainer's hoodie and climbed onto Sierra's back, licking her cheek_

"_Great to see you too Gliscor." She said with a happy expression_

"_Gli gliscor!"_

"_So when he jokes around, it's alright, but if I do it, I get punched in the gut?"_

"_It's not his fault he gets like that, he gets it from you."_

"_Whatever." He mumbled_

"_So, why are you really here."_

"_I need a favor from you."_

"_Like what?"_

"_Nothing really, just to keep an eye on your team members."_

"_Didn't realize you hated foreigners."_

"_No, it's not like that."_

"_Then what is it."_

_Wasting no time, he told Sierra everything that happened on the ship between him and M. He even decided to throw in what happened what he did in Kanto, and even an incident that happened with one of the six dragons and M_

"_Okay, I remember hearing something about one of the dragons going berserk, but the rest?"_

"_Odds are M.E.R.E.S and I.P. will try to bring down the Senate's figure heads from the inside. Using M was something I'd expect, but I have no idea who the I.P. agent is, other than it's one of the foreigners. Without any real leads or data, I can't even come up with a hunch on who it is."_

"_Are you sure you can't narrow it down at all."_

"_I know for sure that Ash and his friends can't be it, since I was the one who kept an eye on them."_

"_Anyone else?"_

"_No, that's it really."_

"…_fine. I'll keep an eye on all three of them, and let you know if I find out anything." She relented, too tired to carry on this talk anymore_

"_Thanks, I owe you one."_

_Gliscor took that as his cue to leave, but not before licking her cheek one more time_

"_I'll see you two later."_

_As Sierra wandered back to her room, she definitely took into account the fact that he didn't spare any details. Normally, he would leave her the basic info and leave it to her to piece it all together. If he was giving her all this info, she could tell this situation was definitely serious. The way his voice sounded, it definitely screamed one thing: Be careful_

_That one message was something she would definitely keep in mind…tomorrow morning._

_Flashback Ends_

* * *

The group found out they had entered New Madrain, a rather festive city with a rather large beach. Other than the annual festivals, people also found it was the perfect place for urban exploration. With other places, ya have no more than 10 minutes before the police show up and slap the cuffs on ya. Here, even the police seem to forget that they're police, and not tourists. Don't get the wrong idea, they still uphold the law, but they also like to have a little fun on the side as well.

"Come on, I know where the gym is." Said Sierra

"You do? How?" asked Dawn

"I came on vacation one time with a few friends of mine. We actually had a chance to climb the buildings and do some exploring around."

"Isn't that illegal?" asked M

"Normally, yes. With New Madrain however, the cops are a little _preoccupied _with other things (the male cops anyway), so naturally, everyone gets to have a blast. The festivals were so much fun!"

"Cool, maybe we can have a chance to be part of it." Said Dawn

"Maybe."

"Anyway…" started M "You said you knew where the gym was, right?"

"Yeah, it's just down this road."

* * *

"So, what's the gym leader like?"

"She's really tough. Her water Pokemon were something else."

"You battled her before?" Gavin asked

"No duh. How else could I be telling you all this stuff?"

"Yeesh, I was just asking. No need to be rude, you know."

"Back to the matter at hand, how strong would you say she is?" M asked

"You'll just have to see for yourself."

"Well never get straight answers from you about this stuff, will we?" Gavin asked

"Nope." Said Sierra, smiling

"Wait, aren't you from Mesoa, M? Shouldn't you know about this place?" asked Dawn

"I've never been here before, so I wouldn't know."

"We're here, you guys." Said Sierra

The gym was actually close by to the beach. Pretty convenient for a water type specialist.

* * *

All four of them entered the gym

The gym was what most would expect in a water type gym. It had a rather large pool with small platforms all around. The roof though, well…there was none. It seemed to be type that could open via a remote or a switch.

At the end of the room stood a woman with wavy turquoise hair and hazel eyes, and had a fair tan on her. She was wearing a sweater that was also turquoise and white khaki shorts. From the looks of her hair, it looked like she just came out of the pool

"Hello, challengers. Welcome to my gym." She said

"Hi there Katherine." Said Sierra

Katherine merely waved back at her

"So, which one of you four will be my challenger?"

"I will." Gavin spoke up, before anyone could do anything

The other three decided to pull him into a group huddle of sorts

"What do think you're doing?!" Sierra whispered

"I _was _going to challenge the Gym Leader, before you guys interrupted me." He replied

"I told you before, her Pokemon are really powerful."

"Which is why you shouldn't battle her. Since you two already battled, she'll know what to expect."

"Still, I think M should battle her."

"Why's that? Is it because I'm not from here?"

"No, it's not like that at all. It's just I know what he can do. I don't know how powerful your Pokemon are."

"Then we'll just show you, right Pichu?"

"Pichu pichu!" it replied, throwing a small fist in the air

"But…"

"Let it go, Sierra. Just let him battle. It'll give us a chance to see how powerful his Pokemon are." M replied

"…okay" she sighed. Complaining wouldn't get them their first badge anyway

* * *

"The rules for this gym will be two-on-two, and ends when one side's pokemon are unable to continue" said Katherine

"Fine by me."

"Then I hope you won't mind ladies first. Go, Prinplup."

What came from her pokeball was a blue penguin with yellow, three-toed feet. Its body was mainly light-blue with a dark blue "mantle" and a short tail. On its abdomen were four, white spots. Its face was owl like and it had blue irises, and two yellow crests running down its head.

"Prinnplup!" it cried out

"Prinplup, huh? Then I choose you, Leafeon."

Gavin's Pokemon was one that was similar to both a fox and a cat, with a tan body. It had one shade of dark brown that was carried out on the tip of its paws, its eye color, and in the center of the ear. It had sprouts growing all over it, making it look more like a plant. It had a longer sprout of its forehead that took on a bit of an 'S' shape. Its ears and tail both shared a leaf-like quality.

"Leaf!" it purred. Then for some reason, it went to Gavin's leg and started nuzzling it

* * *

"Aww, how cute!" Dawn gushed. Gavin's teammates just laughed at the display

"Despite the playfulness, it was a good call. Grass types do have the advantage." Said M

"Don't think that'll matter. I once tried the same thing, and lost the first round." Said Sierra

* * *

"Leafeon, I really need you to focus on this, okay?" Gavin pleaded, red in the face

Leafeon decided to stop showing its affection for its trainer for now and got into a battle stance

"Since you're the challenger, I'll let you take the first move."

"Fine then. Leafeon, use Sunny Day

"Leeeaaaaaf..!" it started. Then, from its body, a yellow sphere shot into the sky, illuminating the field

* * *

"Not a bad trick. With Sunny Day, Prinplup's water attack will be even weaker than normal." Said M

"True, but there's another reason a grass type would use Sunny Day." Said Sierra

"Like what?" Dawn asked

"You'll see."

* * *

"Now use Solarbeam!"

Leafeon charged and focused solar energy into the leaf on its head. Turning into a sphere, it fired the attack at the penguin

"Into the water, now!"

Prinplup did as commanded and managed get into the pool

_It's fast!' _Gavin thought

"Now, use Drill Peck on the platform where Leafeon is!"

Under the water, Prinplup began spinning its body and charged energy into its beak. Then, it charged at the platform

Gavin, meanwhile, was waiting for the penguin to pop out from the water, but it never did

'_What is she up to? Why hasn't Prinplup…'_

"Leafeon, jump onto the nearest platform, now!"

It did as its trainer commanded, managing to get away in time, and for a really good reason: The platform was destroyed

_Un_fortunately, Prinplup continued the attack and smacked into the Verdant Pokemon

"Leeeaaaf!" it cried out in pain

"Leafeon, are you okay?" Gavin asked

Leafeon struggled for a second to get up, but still managed to do so

"Okay then, use Razor Leaf!"

Leafeon shot out sharp edged green leaves

"Counter with Ice Beam!"

Prinplup shot out an icy blue beam of cold energy, stopping the leaves in their tracks

"Now use Drill Peck, once more!"

"Counter with Leaf Blade!"

The two met in a head-on collision. When the smoke cleared, both were still standing, and pretty banged up, but it was clear Leafeon sustained more damage. What made things worse was the fact that the Sunny Day's powers were waning

"Use Rain Dance, followed by Scald!"

Prinplup shot a blue sphere into the air, and it started to rain. After that, Prinplup shot a jet of scalding hot water at its opponent.

Leafeon screamed in pain from the hot water, however, when it stopped, Leafeon was, for a brief second, engulfed in fire. It was burned

"Looks like I'm about to win this battle" said Katherine

"It's not over yet." Said Gavin

"Then make the next move."

'_This isn't good. She's able to keep up with my attacks and counter them as well. What can I do?'_

Gavin thought on this for a little bit before he came up with an idea to deal with the problems he was currently facing

"Leafeon, jump into the water!"

Leafeon did as its trainer commanded and jumped into the water

"Bad move. Use Ice Beam!"

Prinplup fired the blue, icy energy at the pool, freezing it at the top

"Swim lower"

"Keep it up, Prinplup

As Leafeon was pressured to keep away from the ice, its opponent was just as pressured to have the ice catch it

"Spin around, and use Sunny Blade!"

Confused at the name of the attack, they saw the fox-cat spin around and charge at the ice. As it did so, it gathered energy and formed a blade from the leaf on its head. However, the energy from Sunny Day was also gathered into the blade, producing a large amount of heat.

The blade sliced through the ice and struck the Penguin Pokemon

"Prinnnnn!"

"Prinplup, no!"

"Now, let's show them our new move, Giga Drain!"

On command, all the leaves on Leafeon's body began a dark green and turned into vine-like tendrils, which ensnared Prinplup. After that, the vines started to glow red, signifying that Prinplup's energy was being drained

When it was over, both combatants fell to the ground. Leafeon was fine. Prinplup…well its eyes were nice and swirly

"Great effort Prinplup. Take a break." She said

* * *

"Alright, he did it!" yelled Dawn

"Pip piplup!"

"Pichu pi!"

"Calm down, you three. It isn't over yet." Said Sierra

* * *

"Not bad, not bad at all. I wasn't expecting that at all."

"Thanks, but to be honest those moves were new, and I was worried they wouldn't work out."

"Looks like they did. Anyway, that kind of luck won't happen twice. Kingdra, Flamethrower!"

What appeared was a large seahorse appeared. It had compact scales on its stomach, and cress like fins along its cheeks. Its snout was long, and very thin.

No sooner than it had been called out then it had shot a jet of fire onto the unsuspecting Verdant Pokemon

"Leaaaaf!"

"Leafeon!" Gavin cried out

"Wrap it up with Dragon Pulse!"

Gathering a ball of draconic energy at the end of its snout, it quickly fired it at the struggling grass type. The smoke cleared to show an out-cold Leafeon. Kingdra landed in the now melted pool

Gavin was forced to recall Leafeon, and think about his next choice

'_I do have Fraxure, but he'll be limited to the platforms. With Crobat and Empoleon, I'd have more mobility, but I won't be able to do as much damage to Kingdra.'_

"Well…will you send out another Pokemon, or forfeit the match?"

"No way am I ever gonna give up. Fraxure, I choose you!"

Gavin's next Pokemon was a bipedal Pokémon with long, gray and red-tipped tusks protruding from the sides of its mouth. It had dark eyes with red irises, a gray face, and a cowl-like feature of green segments on its head, neck, back and chest. Its arms had three red fingers, and its lower body was gray, with red speckles on the underbelly, as well as red toes and a red tip to its tail.

"Frax fraxure!" it called out

* * *

"Why use Fraxure? They both have an advantage over eachother now." Said Dawn

"I guess Gavin's hoping he'll get lucky again like with Round 1." Said M

"With Katherine as your opponent, you'll need more than luck. You'll need skill, and lots of it." Sierra replied

* * *

"I'll start it off this time. Kingdra, use Dragon Pulse!"

Kingdra fired the familiar ball of draconic energy

Just as Gavin was going to tell Fraxure to dodge, he recalled a technique he learned back when he and the others were training for Mesoa

"Grab the Dragon Pulse!"

Fraxure did as it was told and grabbed the ball of energy. What was better was that it didn't detonate

"Now eat it!"

The command surprised everyone there but Dawn. She knew what was coming

Fraxure ate the Dragon Pulse, and could feel its power rising greatly. Its tusks were growing much larger, and its eyes were now radiating power from them. The tusks suddenly turned into a dark green color

"What the…how did it do that?!" asked a shocked Katherine

"It's simple, really. If a Pokemon ingests an attack that's the same type as its own, then it can gain a great boost in power for a short period of time."

* * *

"That idiot!" Sierra muttered

"What are you talking about?" Dawn asked, a little peeved

"You don't give away secrets or techniques like that!"

* * *

"So, if that's all there is to it, then I'll take a page from your book. Kingdra, ingest a Dragon Pulse."

Once Kingdra did as commanded, its fin seemed to grow both larger and wider. Its scales turned a very deep blue, resembling armor more than scales now. Its horn-like structures seemed to have actually gained a _very _sharp edge.

* * *

"See, you never know when an opponent can turn your ideas against you." Said Sierra

"Gavin still has a chance, though. Have faith in him." Said Dawn

"I'd have to agree with Dawn on this one, Sierra." Said M

"Why?"

"Like you said, we don't really know how this guy battles. He just might have a way out of this situation."

Dawn smiled at the fact she had backup on this matter

* * *

"Fraxure, use Dragon Claw!"

Fraxure's claws grew very long and sharp, bearing a hue of black, dark red and dark blue. It then charged at the Dragon Pokemon.

"Under the water!"

Kingdra did as instructed, and while the attack did miss, it did kick up a lot of the water, exposing Kingdra.

"Now, use Dual Chop!"

Using its enlarged tusks, it charged at the airborne seahorse and struck it down

Kingdra whinnied in pain as it was slammed back into the water

"Kingdra, are you okay?"

Kingdra nodded in response

"Okay, now use Ice Beam!"

What was meant to be three separate beams of icy energy turned out to be a Hydro Pump blast of ice, and since it was so fast, it struck Fraxure.

"Fraaaax!" it cried out in pain

"You okay Fraxure?"

"Frax fraxure!" was the reply

"Good. Now, use Poison Jab!"

Fraxure, its claws formed into fists, charged at Kingdra

"Under the water!"

"Aim the Poison Jab into the water!"

"Get out of there!"

In a rapid succession of commands, Kingdra dived underwater, Fraxure poisoned the water, and Kingdra escaped in time, but was confined to the platforms, less it risk being poisoned by the now contaminated water

"Alright, now we have it cornered! Use Dragon Claw once more!"

Fraxure charged at its opponent

"Don't get ahead of yourself. Use Outrage!"

"Kingdra's body started glowing red, and it scales turned as such. It raced towards its opponent in a fit of rage

* * *

"This isn't good." Said Sierra

"I agree. Outrage is deadly on its own, and with that power boost, who knows how deadly it is now. Said M

"But…Gavin still has a chance, right?"

"Unless your boyfriend comes up with a strategy real fast, it's game over." Said Sierra. Her comment made Dawn blush in embarrassment and M look jealous. This didn't escape her notice

'_Hmm, I wonder?'_

* * *

She was pulled out of her thought by an explosion caused by the impact

Both Pokemon were still standing, but Fraxure was still being beaten by Kingdra, the adrenaline forcing it to ignore the pain

"Use Payback, Fraxure! Get it away from you!"

Fraxure, gathering darkened energy into its body, launched a devastating haymaker onto the Water/Dragon type, sending it airborne

"Finish it with Draco Meteor!"

Fraxure gathered all of its dragon energy into the center of its body and compressed it into an orange ball of energy. Since Fraxure still had some power left from the boost, the meteor was a little larger than average

"Fire, now!"

Launching the attack, that one meteor soon broke into dozens, all of them making contact with Kingdra

After the smoke cleared, it was obvious Kingdra was down for the count

"Alright, we did it! You were really great out there Fraxure!"

"Frax fraxure!"

* * *

"Oh yeah! He did! He did it! He really won!" Dawn enthusiastically shouted

"Pichu pichu pi pichu!"

"Pip pip lup piplup!"

"I'll admit, he's pretty good." Said M

'_Talk about dumb luck. He just barely won against one of the _lower_ ranked Gym Leaders. I hope he knows what he'll be up against'_

Sierra just sighed "He's got a long way to go before he's ready for the higher up gym leaders." She muttered

* * *

"Well, you're one of the more interesting challenges I've had."

"Thank you."

"As proof of your victory at the New Madrain Gym, here's the Pacific Badge."

"Taking it in hand, he yelled " Oh yeah, I just won us the Pacific Badge!"

"Pi pichu!"

"Leafeon Leaf!"

"Frax fraxure!"

"So, where's your team heading off to, next?"

"Honestly, we don't know yet." Gavin replied

"Hey, are any of you coordinators?"

"Yeah, I am." Dawn replied

"Well, there's a contest starting tomorrow. You can enter it, so long as you have a partner."

"Huh?"

"Some contests here make you require to compete with a partner." Replied Sierra

"Oh…" replied Dawn

"So, who's going to compete with you?" Katherine asked

"Umm…I don't know yet." Dawn replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head

"I'll help you!" Gavin and M said at the same time. Then, they stared at each other, sparks flying between the two

"I'll help." Sierra said

"Huh?" all three said

"This way she has a partner, and I don't have to waste time dealing with you two idiots."

"Uh, sure. Thanks Sierra." Dawn said

At that moment, Gavin's stomach growled.

"Uh…sorry about that. I guess I'm a little hungry." Gavin said sheepishly

His teammates fell down anime style, while the Gym Leader just giggled

'_It really is just like traveling Ash all over again.' _Thought Dawn

"So, let's go to the Pokemon Center. We'll spend the night there and focus on the coordinator stuff tomorrow." Sierra suggested

"Sure!" they all replied

* * *

Along the way, Gavin had his own individual thoughts on this whole thing

'_Man, that was close. Her Pokemon were really powerful, and there's no doubt the other Gym Leaders will be just like that. It looks like I'll have to train even harder…and keep an eye on M._

* * *

**And that is a wrap on that chapter, finally. Writer's block and other stuff had gotten on the way, including Ven's appearance and Sierra's objective**

**New Madrain was based off New Marais from the infamous series. Sorry, but that game is very addicting once you start it**

**Originally, I was going to do one team every chapter, but then it would take too long, so now it's two-three teams a chapter**

**Now, if you haven't heard, a Generation VI was confirmed. The confirmed Pokemon are Chespin, Fennekin, Froakie, Xerneas, and Yveltal.**

**So, next chapter will focus on Kirrie's team, and my OCs team. What happens then? Well, you'll have to wait and see**

**So, as always, subscribe to me or this story for future updates. Add this, or me, to your favorites as well. Leave a comment in the review box below, but NO FLAMES**

**As always, remember to read, review, and enjoy. I'm A.M.P 1008, signing out!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello everyone on fanfiction and welcome back to another episode of Mesoa League: The Ultimate Challenge**

**I've managed to scrape some free time, since the final copy of the research paper isn't due until after Spring Break, so I figured why not? I can multitask between writing this and my research paper. Really all it needs is a few tweaks.**

**Anyway, last chapter saw nothing but action (and a piece from inFAMOUS 2) and Team 2 got their first badge.**

**Now, something I want to point out if I haven't already, there will be time skips between the chapters. How much of a time skip though, I won't specify. I will tell you this; by the time the chapter with Team 16 is posted, a few month will have gone by. At least 3-4. After that, teams in any random order will be presented**

**So, with that said, let's focus on the next two teams. Hopefully this will be quite the chapter for all of you.**

* * *

When you spend a good piece of your life catching and training cat-esque Pokémon, you can get a sense of how they work. What they basically like, what their habits are, and even their strengths and weaknesses are, right? That should also include their basic instinct to locate shelter, food, and other necessities, right? Then it should also include a keen sense of direction, correct?

Normally, that would be the case here, but just one key detail here: Axis Leto, no matter how much he acted like a cat, he was still a human. Humans, they don't have anything that was stated above, e_specially _when it's in a foreign land. His teammates realized this rather quickly, and became rather irked. Kirie's Emboar was more than ready to fry the poor cat-boy.

"I swear, if we get stuck in here for months, the first thing I'm doing is killing you." Cielia growled to Axis. She might have a bit of a problem with strangers, but getting lost due to a new associate would make anyone pissed off

"How many times to I have to say I'm sorry?" he asked/begged

"Until we find a town where we can rest and think."

Meanwhile, just a few feet up ahead were Kirrie and Ryan, looking at the map to see if they could find their way around the mountain they landed in. (Un)fortunately for Ryan, Kirrie was a little too focused on _other_ things to pay attention.

"So…if we came around this jagged area…then we should be near the closest town…which is just over this canyon here…"

The reason for his stuttering was that his girlfriend was showing _her _brand of affection for her boyfriend right now,

"They're right there, you know." He whispered

"So? It's a little exciting, right? Besides, it's not like this is the first time we've done this." She whispered back

"Still!" he quickly replied back, trying to focus on the map, and not on Kirrie's "affection" and Emboar's glare

"So, have any ideas on where to go?" Cielia asked

"Yeah, it looks like all we have to do is go across this canyon here and we should arrive at a town a mile from the entrance." Ryan replied

"Then let's get going!" Axis said, battered and bruised

"Uhhh…."

"Don't ask!" both of them stated

* * *

All four of them found themselves walking within the canyon after walking down into it for 10 minutes. Turns out they had wound up near a town, while it had neither a gym nor a contest hall, provided a map through Elco Canyon, which Axis had managed to screw up on their way in direction wise. Why? He had the damn map upside down.

"Come on! I said sorry!" Axis shouted

"Who the hell are you yelling at? Cielia asked

"Uhh…no one. No one at all!" he replied, frantically

"Whatever." She replied, followed by mumbling "weirdo" at the end.

After another ten minutes of walking and complaining from the others, which was _really _pissing off both Emboar and Ryan, the former decided to announce their current location in the canyon.

"Look! We're in the heart of the canyon right now and should be out within the next five minutes if you all shut up and pick up the pace!" Ryan nearly shouted

Unfortunately for their group, _nearly _was all it took for the earth to start shaking.

"What is that?!" Kirrie asked, nervously. This prompted Emboar to stand near his trainer, prepared to fight.

From the rocky terrain emerged rock types of all shapes and sizes.

The first type to appear were simply boulders with arms and eyes, Geodudes.

The second group to appear were large, jagged boulders with a set of feet and two sets of arms, Gravelers.

The third thing that popped out was a large stone boulder with what appeared to be armor that was a shade darker than its head, arms, and legs. Its eyes were a deep red. A single Golem.

To make the scenario even worse, even more pokemon decided to appear. Very large snakes composed of both rock and steel; Onix and Steelix.

The last thing to emerge from the canyon was a large dragon that seemed to be comprised of nothing but rock. Two large wings adorned its back, and it also had a horn on its head.

"What is that thing?!" Axis yelled nervously, feeling a sudden urge to yewl and hiss at the dragon.

Ryan pulled out his Pokedex and scanned the beast

_Rocktor, the Rock Dragon Pokemon. It is said that Rocktor's came to be when draconic energy mixed with their pre-evolved form, Rockta. Males are more aggressive than females._

In addition to the large dragon, there was 1 Golem, 5 Onix and 2 Steelix, 17 Graveler, and 30 Geodude. Yeah…those were really bad odds.

"Well, we can't just do nothing. They'll kill us, otherwise. Go, Serperior!"

Ryan's pokeball revealed a long, green snake-like pokemon with short, stubby arms in the form of leaves. Its eyes were red in color, and it had yellow and white on its body.

"Don't think you can leave me out of this. Please help me, Gilgamesh!"

Cielia's pokeball had revealed a cat like pokemon with long whiskers and long "sleeves." Its body was mostly purple and white, though small traces of yellow could also be seen on its body. Gilgamesh was really a Mienshao.

"Well I'm not just gonna stand by and do nothing. Come out and play, Sir Fluffington!"

Axis had released what appeared to be a mixture of a mongoose and a cat. Its fur was mostly white in color, but it also had red patterns along its body in the form of tattoos, one of which went past its left eye. It bore razor sharp claws on its hands and feet, which still bore some dried blood from its battle against its first Seviper. It was the dried blood alone that kept most of everyone there from saying anything about the Zangoose's ridiculous nickname, though Emboar did snort a little at the name.

The Geodude wasted no time at all, and 14 of them decided to charge in with Rollout, Mega Punch, Gyro Ball, and Brick Break

"Serperior, use Leaf Tornado!" Ryan commanded

Serperior's tail whirled and was surrounded by leaves, which slammed into the Geodude that were attacking, swatting them like flies.

The Graveler took their chance and decided to use a Rock Polish, before launching a Rock Slide to the trespassers.

"Gilgamesh, Acrobatics into Brick Break, then use Toxic!"

Gilgamesh performed a series of maneuvers, which required a lot of flexibility, and jumped from boulder to boulder; using Brick Break to break the rocks up and send them flying back towards their attackers. Along with the boulders, a poisonous substance was launched at them, poisoning all, minus the Steelix, Rocktor, and Golem.

"Emboar, use Hammer Arm!"

Emboar charged its arms up with energy and decided to charge at the leader, the large dragon. Said Rocktor retaliated with a Dragon Tail, which met the Hammer Arm head on.

"Sir Fluffington, double kick!"

Deciding to get over the ridiculous nickname for now, the Zangoose charged and kicked away the charging, poisoned Geodudes and managed to land a hit on a Graveler, before two Iron Tails forced it away. Redirecting its focus to the poisoned Onix that were present, it charged at them, before it was slammed to the ground by the Golem with a Heavy Slam.

* * *

Back with Serperior, it had finished sweeping away the Geodudes, exerting a lot of energy to keep them down on the process, Ryan was forced to recall it, so it wouldn't get hurt any further. Turns out quite the number of them had Elemental Punches, and wouldn't stay down, despite being poisoned.

"Dewott, Zoroark, help me out here!"

One pokemon was a blue sea otter that was even darker on its lower sides. At its side were two scalchops. The other was a black, bipedal fox with dark fur that was red at the tips.

"Dewott, use Razor Shell! Zoroark, use Psychic!"

Dewott charged at the Golem and drew its two scalchops, charging them with aquatic energy to a fine point. Meanwhile, Zoroark decided to bind Golem into place while its partner finished the job. The Razor Shell hit and made contact, causing a lot of damage to the Golem.

Unfortunately, they were caught off guard by two of the Onix launching a Dragonbreath/Stone Edge combo at the two. Forced to dodge, they jumped, which lead them to being slammed into the ground by a third Onix and hit by a Steelix that was using Dig. Both Dewott and Zoroark were down for the count.

Kirrie, seeing the situation, decided to add more force into the picture.

"Jellicent, Hydro Pump on the Onix! Sceptile, use Leaf Storm!"

No sooner had a large pink jellyfish with frills and a large, wood gecko with draconic features appeared had they launched their attacks on their respective targets. Three Onix and 4 Graveler, in addition to the 3 that were already down, had finally fainted.

* * *

Back with Gilgamesh, it was reaching its limits with the Golem that was fighting the Zangoose suddenly appeared to protect its kin. Gilgamesh exerted a large amount of energy using Brick Break, Toxic, and Acrobatics in rapid succession.

Cielia decided to call back Gilgamesh before something _really _bad happened to it, and sent out a spiky metal pod with three sub pods sticking out of it. Zulu, the Ferrothorn.

"Zulu, use Curse!"

Its body was surrounded with a purple energy, cutting its Speed to raise its Attack and Defense.

The Golem went on the offensive and used Brick Break on the Ferrothorn.

"Ferro!" Zulu cried in pain

"Zulu, hang on there!" Cielia cried

Fortunately for them, the Iron Barbs ability did its job as the Golem winced in pain.

"Zulu, use Curse once more!"

Zulu's body was once more encased on the purple energy, raising Attack and Defense for Speed.

Golem, having learned its lesson, had launched a Flamethrower towards Zulu. Since Curse didn't raise Special Defense, it really hurt.

"Ferooo!" it cried in pain

"Zulu, no!"

It seemed to be okay, until it burst into flames for a brief moment. It had been burned.

"Oh, no."

The Golem decided to wrap things up by charging and launching a Focus Blast.

Zulu, despite the pain it was in, had managed to jump and landed on the Golem, slamming into it with a Gyro Ball.

Zulu, on a bit of a streak, used a new move, Power Whip, and repeatedly slammed them on the Golem.

Golem, in vain, had tried to shake off its attacker, but was seeing some success, as with each time the burn status showed, the attacks weakened.

Golem decided to not wait any longer, and launched itself into the center of all the battles, and used Explosion.

The result was instantaneous; The Golem, Ferrothorn, Zangoose, Jellicent, Dewott, Zoroark, and Sceptile were all defeated. Along with them were the remaining Graveler and Onix, and even a Steelix.

* * *

With Emboar, things weren't fairing so well. The Rocktor kept its distance in the air and launched many attacks, most of them hitting Emboar, while the attacks that Emboar launced were mostly dodged. The ones that did hit were fire attacks. Finally, with one last Dragon Tail, Emboar went down.

"Oh, no. What are we gonna do now?" Kirrie nervously asked.

"What about Druddigon?" Ryan asked

"It's still exhausted from that battle before we came here."

"Don't you have any other Pokemon that are effective?" Cielia asked

"Either they aren't effective, or they're too exhausted." They both replied."

"Sir Fluffington was really my only Pokemon with moves that could do any type of damage." Axis replied

"My other Pokemon aren't suited for this." Cielia stated

The Rocktor and Steelix were closing in on the intruders, ready to deal the killing blow, when suddenly…

"Fractiron, use Iron Head on Rocktor! Metagross, use Hammer Arm on Steelix!"

A silver streak of energy slammed into the Rocktor, while a large arm slammed into the Steelix."

The silver streak of energy turned out to be what, at first glance, was an Aggron, though there were obvious structural differences. Its head was longer than an Aggron's, and its body was more narrow and muscular. The forelegs were skinnier, but somehow that made them look deadlier. The legs were much longer and had more muscle mass on them, and it had a longer tail, not to mention blade-like spines on its back.

The second one was a quadrupedal metallic spider with red eyes, and a large silver X across its face. Its entire body was blue in color.

What stunned the group the most was the person standing on a nearby cliff over the valley. It was an old man who looked to be in his late 50's-early 60's and had white hair and a large, white beard. He was wearing what a miner would; everything from the miner's helmet to the vests and cargo pants. He was even carrying a pick axe.

The Rocktor and Steelix had recovered and saw who their attackers were. Glaring at the two Pokemon did nothing, as they only glared back.

"Rocktor, Steelix! That's enough! These travelers meant no harm, nor did they have any intentions of stealing your home. Take your fallen comrades, and leave!" the stranger demanded

The look in his old eyes left no room for argument, and since they knew he wouldn't lie to them, they decided to take his advice, gathered their comrades, and left.

He jumped down from the cliff, and was caught in his Metagross' Psychic, easing him down a little.

When he was finally down, he decided to approach the group and introduce himself.

"The name's Buster. I'm a miner."

"Hi, the name's Ryan."

"I'm Kirrie." She said, giving a small bow of graditude

"I-I'm Cielia." She said with a small smile

"And I'm Axis!" the neko boy said with surprising pep, given they were almost Pokefood.

"Nice to meet all of ya. So, how's about we get out Elco Canyon and talk back at my place."

"Sure" they all agreed

* * *

After being lifted to Elco Town by Buster's Metagross, the group decided to explain what had happened

"Well, no wonder the Pokemon got so antsy. Lately, all the Pokemon have been competing for food and homes. 'Course it's definitely much tamer here than at Dragon Valley, but still, things are pretty bad, _especially _at the heart of the canyon. No one wants to go there anymore since they're all afraid. Hell, even all my workers quit out of fear for their families safety, which I don't blame them for. But, without additional help, this town's in real trouble.

"Why's that?" Ryan asked

"This town's environment is rather dry and rough. There are a few fertile areas, but where that's where the farms produce grains. I found out that canyon has a lot of coal and evolutionary stones, so I gathered some old friends, and we got digging in the areas where no Pokemon were. Hell, a lot of them lend a helping hand. Soon, our town was able by some land a few miles to the west of here where other crops were being produced. Yep, it was glorious time. But now, we're in danger of losing all that farmland.

"If that's all true, then why did they start going rouge and began competing for everything.

"Unfortunately, we don't know. We do know that it happened around a month after Dragon Valley went berserk. Me, I'm thinkin it has got somethin to do with the Senate. They've been actin funny for a long time, now."

"So, why not say something?" Axis asked

"Heh, you're funny, kid. Treason and accusations aren't taken lightly here. The Senate don't lock you up like the King would. Naw, the Senate makes you disappear, forever. I've seen it happen to a buddy of mine from Tenichi City. He was dragged away into some cart with some sort of mystic eye on the side. Never saw him again."

The group all gulped at what the man said, especially Cielia

"Look, don't focus on it, and don't repeat what I said, to anyone. They'll see it as a perfect opportunity to eliminate outsiders."

They all nodded

"Anyway, other than being a miner, I also have a Pokemon Gym. I'm a Steel type user, as you saw earlier, with my Metagross and Fractiron

"Fractiron?" they all asked

Ryan pulled out his Pokedex and found some info on said Pokemon

_Fractiron, the Armor Dino Pokemon. They attack everything, minus comrades, to test their strength against anything, seeing them as enemies. Their leg muscles are powerful enough to crush a tank by stomping on them._

They couldn't help but whistle at its impressive stats, though its Special Attack was rather crappy.

"So, how's about we all get some rest, and tomorrow, I'll battle one of you. Sound like a plan?"

"Yeah, I can agree to that." Kirrie said, stretching her body out in a teasing manner that wasn't lost on her boyfriend and Cielia

The next morning, they all arrived at the gym, prepared to battle for their first badge. Last night they decided that Kirrie would battle it out with the Gym Leader

"How's about we do a quick one-on-one. I do have to get to work in 20 minutes. Those stones don't mine themselves."

"Sure." Kirrie replied

"Fractiron, time to battle!" Buster yelled, tossing a pokeball

"Fraaccctiron!" it bellowed, ready to battle

Kirrie thought on it for a second, before deciding

"Emboar, I choose you!"

The Mega Fire Pig appeared in a flash, spitting out fire and glared at its opponent.

"This battle between Buster the Gym Leader and Kirrie the challenger will now commence. This is a one-on-one battle with no substitutions. When one side's Pokemon can no longer continue, the battle is over. Now, battle begin!" the announcer declared

The two Pokemon, not even a second later, charged at each other…

* * *

"Eelektross, use Dragon Claw!"

"Ninetales, counter with Zen Headbutt!"

The Elefish and fox Pokemon met head on with dedicated force behind their attacks

"Bad move there Katie. Eelektross, use thunderbolt!"

"Eelektross!" it cried out as it released a stream of electricity to it opponent, who was still in direct contact

"Niine!" it cried out in pain

"Ninetales, no! Are you okay?" Other than being a little paralyzed, it yepped in confirmation. It seemed like the two opponents were at it for a while

"Alright. Ninetales, use Psychic!"

The foxes' eyes glowed a bluish color before the large eel was lifted into the air

"Eelektross, try to break out of there!" its trainer called out. It tried, but it had no success.

"Nice try Crystal, but my Ninetales' kinetic abilities have improved since last time. Now, use Flamethrower!"

The fox fired a stream of fire towards its midair opponent, which easily struck.

"Eeeel!" it cried

"Eelektross, no!"

"Slam it into the ground!"

Using its psychic powers, it slammed the opponent into the ground. When the dust cleared, it revealed Eelektross had gotten up with a bit of a struggle.

"Ready to go, Eelektross?" Crystal asked, to which her partner nodded

"Okay then, use Rock Slide!"

Suddenly, a bunch of the rocks just started to fall out of the sky

"Ninetales, dodge all of the rocks while running towards Eelektross!"

The fox started running and dodging the rocks, and even jumped on a few, all while getting closer to the eel

'_Just a little closer.' _They both thought

When the two were mere inches away from each other, their trainers gave the final commands.

"Use Inferno/Zap Cannon!"

Both Pokemon launched their respective elemental attacks to their opponent. Rather than collide, the attacks bypassed each other, and struck the opponents. When the smoke cleared, both Pokemon were knocked out

"Alright, that's enough." A third voiced announced

At the side, leaning on a tree was the infamous "Shadow Dragon" of Mesoa, Ryan. To his left side was one of his friends, Ginji.

On Ryan's right side was a small, bipedal rodent with an orange body with a white stomach. It had two, horizontal brown stripes across its back. Its ears were bifurcated, and the tail was rather long, with the end in the shape of a thunderbolt. Half of its paws were brown, at the end. The top half of the feet was also brown. On its face were two electrical sacs, yellow in color. It was a Raichu.

A week after winding up in the Industrial Section and winning against the Poison Type Gym Leader, they decided to go to New Madrain to battle Katherine, and her water types.

Right now, the four were currently training in a forest to prepare for the next Gym. Katie and Crystal already had their little two-on-two spar, with Katie's Simipour easily beating Crystal's Chandelure, but lost to the Eelektross, hence the Ninetales vs. Eelektross

"I have to say, all four of them have improved dramatically." Ryan said as they recalled their Pokemon

"Yeah, you really should have them battle a few of the higher ups with your team." Ginji encouraged

The two women had blushed from the compliments they had received

"I'll consider it." Replied Crystal

"M-me too." Katie added

"Anyway, there's a hot spring nearby. I found it with Emboar while collecting the firewood." Ginji said

"Feel like going for a soak, Katie?"

"Sure! I could use it."

As the two women gathered a couple of towels and their bathing suits, they went towards the direction Ginji had pointed to, leaving the two men alone. Raichu followed suit

"So…after we battle Katherine, where should we go from there?" Ginji asked

"It looks like Yangzin Town would be the closest." Ryan replied

"Isn't that place near Dragon Valley?"

"Yes, but it also has a cold enough climate to where most Dragon-types don't go near it."

"Yeah, I guess so…hey, wait."

"What?"

"You said Yangzin _Town. _Don't you mean Yangzin City?" Ginji asked, confused

"Actually, the city itself lies even further to the north. It's all ice and snow, which is good, since a good chunk of the citizens are either Hydrokinetic or Cryokinetic."

"You mean the tribal leaders?"

"Yes."

"Huh…you know, it's still a little weird how some people are born with kinetic abilities."

"I can see where you're coming from, but remember; when the ancient war ended, and our guardians went to sleep, they spread _their _energies over the land so that Mesoans could defend themselves. And before you say anything, what Daisuke had mentioned before about our hatred with the outside world being 50 years old, that's wrong."

"Didn't need to tell me that part. Even I knew that. In fact, 50 years ago was when we decided to contact the other regions since ancient times. The rest though, that was true."

"Let's not focus on all of that right now. How's about we do an exhibition match of our own." Ryan suggested

"Sure, it'll only make my team much more prepared for Mike's team."

"One-on-one?"

"Fine with me."

The two friends stood at opposite ends of the makeshift battlefield, prepared to send out their Pokemon

"I'll start out first." Ryan stated "Out from the shadows, Infernape!"

Ryan threw a black and purple pokeball in the air, which revealed a brownish-red monkey with gold plates on its chest, shoulder, knees, and on its hands. Parts of the fur were a white color, and its fingers and toes were blue in color. On its head was a large flame, and a decent sized tail was also sticking out.

"Infernape, huh? Well then I'll use this. Empoleon, let's heat things up!"

From Ginji's volcano patterned ball came a black and navy blue penguin with blue metal at the tips of the wings and had three, golden claws sticking out from the bottom. It had a short, blue, metal tail sticking out of its back and fin that's on the front of its body, which extends to where its chin would be, but seemed split to form a sort of collar. If one looked at Empoleon, it had a tie like fin in the middle of its belly, and the collar coming off of it, relating to the tuxedo of a real world penguin. There was a lace-like pattern of white coloration on its front, and it had two gold-colored spots on its upper-back. Its most prominent feature was the three-horned trident-like crest that extended from its beak. Just from the size of it, this Empoleon could've easily led a colony.

"Since I was the one to challenge you, you have the first move." Ryan said

"Bad choice there. Alright Empoleon, let's go!"

* * *

"Ahhh…" both of the women sighed as they sunk their bodies into the hot spring. It was surrounded by many "sub" hot springs, where their Pokemon could unwind

"These springs really hit the spot." Crystal said, stretching out

"I can agree with you there." Katie replied

The two friends just sat there, enjoying the hot water and the quietness (since their Pokemon weren't really playing around ) when they striked up a conversation

"So, how do you think Sierra's doing?" Katie asked

"She's fine. She can take care of herself. Besides, Mike's on her team too." Crystal replied mischievously. Both women giggled at the thought

"Yeah, I guess so. But, didn't you notice that she gave her teammates the evil eye?"

"Really, why?"

"Well, I heard that one of her teammates, Cilan, is a Gym Leader from Striation City in Unova."

"You mean that guy in the bartender's suit?" Crystal asked, to which Katie nodded yes. "Why, though?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's because of what happened back then."

"She still hasn't gotten over it, huh?"

"No, she hasn't, and I don't understand it." Katie replied, getting a little annoyed

"Huh?"

"After all, why should she be the one to get pissed off about it."

"Katie." Crystal called to her friend, to no avail

"When she wasn't the one that was even attacked." Katie seemed to have become lost in her own world, and memories, ignoring everything around her, and was becoming more enraged

"Katie!"

"So why the hell should she be the one to get pissed off…"

"Katie, stop it now!" her friend cried to her desperately

"When _I'm _the one who had the close call!" she practically yelled, splashing the water in anger.

Crystal decided to grip her friend's shoulders and pulled her close, trying to soothe her

"It still hurts, doesn't it?"

"I can't help it _(sob)_. I still think about _(sob) _what would've happened _(sob) _if Ryan didn't show up." She practically cried out.

Hearing the commotion, the Pokemon turned to see what was going on with their masters, only for Crystal to send them away with a look that demanded they be left alone. Many of them did, minus Crystal's Samurott and Dragonite, and Katie's Nidoqueen and Typhlosion (who merely lied on the hot rocks. Typhlosion stubbornly refused to leave, forcing his two higher ranks to do so.

Katie's Pokemon weren't lost on the situation. They were aware of what happened, and hated it when their trainer thought back on that night.

"Shh, shh. It's okay Katie. I'm still here, your Pokemon are, and you know Ryan is there for you. He never would let anything happen to his little princess." Crystal said in a soothing voice, to which Katie nodded her head. Crystal simply didn't have the heart to tease her right now.

"How's about we stay here for a few more minutes, and then we get going. Huh?" Crystal asked, which Katie agreed to.

After those few minutes had passes, they decided to get out of the springs and changed into their regular clothes, when they heard an explosion coming from Ryan and Ginji's vicinity.

"What was that?" Katie asked

"I don't know. Let's go check it out."

As both girls recalled their Pokemon and ran back to the campsite, where they came across a startling sight.

Infernape and Empoleon both had a lot of scrapes and bruises from their battle. They were panting and exhausted from using so much energy. Both Blaze and Torrent were activated. Yet, in spite of all that, they were both smiling. They were enjoying themselves, greatly.

If the four took notice of the new arrivals, they didn't say anything. Instead, they continued on with their battle.

"Infernape, use Thunderpunch!"

Infernape charged at its opponent with a fist, cackling witnh electricity

"Counter with Drill Peck!"

Empoleon began spinning its body at high speeds, and matched the electrified fist, which caused an explosion. Both Pokemon skidded back, looking even more damaged, but still happy

"Use Hone Claws!" both trainers commanded

"Their claws became enveloped in a dark energy, sharpening them

"Empoleon, now use Swords Dance into Steel Wing!"

Empoleom seemed to be doing a sort of tribal dance, which sharpened the blades even further. Then, it charged towards the monkey with silver glowing wings.

"Use Dig to dodge!"

Infernape dug underground, completely dodging Empoleon's attack.

"Empoleon, use Hydro Cannon into the hole!"

Empoleon fired a pressurized a jet of water into the hole its opponent escaped into

"Get out of there, now!"

Infernape emerged out a few feet away, but it was hit by the Hydro Cannon. It fell to the ground

"Infernape! Are you okay!" Ryan shouted. He seemed to stuggle to gain breath for a second. That second wasn't lost on everyone in the group, including the Pokemon

Infernape managed to get up after a bit of struggling

"Okay. Now use Brick Break!"

Infernape charged at the penguin, its hands in a chopping form, and struck the penguin

"Empoll!"

"Empoleon, no!"

"Wrap it up with Blast Burn, max power!"

Gathering all its energy from the Blaze, Infernape shot a blast of exploding white fire, point blank, at Empoleon. The following explosion was _very _massive. When the smoke cleared, Infernape was on the floor, panting greatly from exhaustion. Empoleon, he was knocked out.

"Great job, Empoleon. Rest now." Ginji said recalling his downed Pokemon

"You did well, Infernape. Rest now." Ryan said, recalling the final evolved form of the Sinnoh fire starter.

The girls at that point were clapping in applause for that battle, which caused the two battlers to look there way.

"How long were you two watching?" Ginji asked

"We actually came around when we heard that large explosion." Crystal replied

"What was that anyway?" Katie asked.

"It was Blast Burn and Hydro Cannon colliding." Ryan replied

"Wow, that's impressive." Crystal replied

"Yeah it was. So, we already to head out, now?" Ginji asked

"Sure. I think we can travel another few miles before we have to settle for the night." Katie said

As the group started walking, Katie unconsciously went closer to Ryan, which he didn't fail to notice.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah. I-I'm okay."

"Look. I understand what's going on here." He whispered, which caused Katie to stiffen up

"I know the memories of that night are still there. I know you feel scared when you recall what had happened. If you need my help, then just ask."

Katie looked into his eyes (covered by the glasses) for a second, then smiled. Then, he wrapped an arm around her.

Out of earshot, Ginji and Crystal were talking to eachother

"Think she's gotten over it, yet?" he asked

"No, no I don't. But, I think dealing with it will be a lot easier now." She replied

He just looked at the two, and said "They really should just get together already."

"I agree, but for now, let's just leave things as is. That moment is the kind you don't want to break up."

"True. So, what about Sierra and Mike?"

"Believe me, I think their teammates will do the job for us."

At that, both Cilan and Iris sneezed

* * *

**And cut, print. That's a wrap there folks**

**Well, there were certainly a lot of surprises in this chapter I would think. I believe all of you can guess what had (nearly) occurred with Katie.**

**Anyway, enough with depressing thoughts on that manner. At this point in time, I would like to thank Aeron Solo and Axel Nightblazer for the submission of Fractiron, as well as Titanic X for the Rocktor**

**Next chapter I will try to focus on three teams. Concerning all teams, they'll exchange stories of their adventures, which will show what they've been up to, when I write ch 16's chapter. That one will have a tournament where people will catch up on things**

**You know the deal. Leave comments, concerns, and criticisms in the review box. Subscribe to me or the story for future updates.**

**Also, before I go, I would like to market my new story called Ghost of Allstars, which features Kratos from the God of War franchise as the main protagonist. Concerning Bleach: Mystery of the Past, Secret of the Shinso, that will be on an indefinite hiatus, for now.**

**I'm A.M.P 1008, signing out!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello to everyone on Fanfiction, and welcome back to another installment of Mesoa League: The Ultimate Challenge. As alway****s, I'm your host, A.M.P 1008**

**In the last chapter, two more teams kicked things off in…unique ways, some more than others.**

**This time though, we'll be focusing on a total of three teams. I hope this will be worth the wait. Also, someone told me they had a problem about me making up moves (Sunny Blade) If you have a problem with it, then go somewhere else. So, without further ado, here's chapter 7**

**Oh, and I only own the plot and my OCs (can't believe no one told me I forgot disclaimers)**

* * *

It had been a week and a half, and Team 5 was nearing the outskirts of the Kamahyala Desert, known for raging sandstorms that swallowed one up, leaving them for dead while wandered around. They all wound up succumbing to the intense heat or frigid night.

Despite this, there was hope. If one had a Trapinch, or any of its evolutionary relatives, they could find a safe passageway. It was using this method that allowed the ancient Mesoans to place flags along the safe ways, and build shelters that would allow travelers to rest during the days and nights.

But, even with this advantage, the desert still held one deadly element; distance. Going across, the desert's radius reached a total of 140 miles, meaning all the way across was 280 miles. All around, it was anywhere from 400-500 miles.

"So your hometown is across the desert?" Iris asked Sierra

"Yeah, and the best part is I know the shortest route across the desert." Sierra replied

The tension between the Team had somewhat defused when Sierra had said it wasn't them personally, or just the fact they were outsiders, but that was all she said. She wouldn't explain any further. Iris and Cilan saw it was enough for them, and managed to hold minor conversations with Sierra, but had yet to get Mike to say a thing.

"How short is the pathway?"

"It's, at most, just a day if we can make good time."

"Great!"

They had arrived at a checkpoint, which sold necessary supplies, and even rented out Trapinch to those who needed them

"Ah. Welcome, young travelers. What can I help you with, today." The shopkeeper asked with a noticeable Indian accent **(I ****have **_**no **_**intention whatsoever to offend anyone. If anyone is offended, then I apologize in advance)**

"We need two tents, four sleeping bags, and four large canteens of water."

The shopkeeper easily gathered all the requested items and somehow managed to wrap it all in one large knapsack.

"The total comes to 8,374 poke."

"That much?! Why?" Iris asked

"Water's a real necessity for everyone around here. That, and salt to prevent over hydration." Sierra said without complaint, paying the respective amount.

"Thank you for your patronage, but don't you require a Trapinch for the journey?"

"I have my Flygon with me, so it's fine."

"Ah, I see. Safe travels, and pray that Crysaurich is with you."

"Crysaurich?" Iris whispered to Sierra

"The Earth Dragon. Didn't Daisuke tell you this, already?" she whispered back

"How do you know him? And how do you know what he told us?"

"To answer your questions, I've known him for a while, and he told me."

"He mentioned that there were six of them, but he didn't give any names." Cilan replied

* * *

With all the necessary supplies in hand, they decided not to waste anymore time, and headed for the desert. Once they were at the entrance to the Kamahyala Desert, Sierra decided to release the Flygon.

"Flygon, make the earth tremble!"

The Flygon was eager to help, and its instincts soon took over, it flew a loop-de-loop in the air before flying off at an astonishing speed, leaving the four teens to run after it.

Although the Flygon occasionally paused for a few moments every half-mile, it just kept flying. Soon enough, Iris was starting to question how Flygon was flying so fast in this brutal desert heat.

Cilan soon voiced her concern after a few minutes of running, managing to pant, "Although Flygon is a powerful dish... perfectly seasoned to the desert environment, we... aren't. How long will we... keep going?"

Sierra sighed. "If you wanted an easy journey, you should have stayed in your home region."

After a few more minutes of running, the Flygon circled around a spot in the ground that looked a little different, meaning that the sand was darker and the patch of ground had a small outline that could be seen if one looked closely.

Iris sighed with relief, gasping for air. "Thank goodness we... made it..."

Cilan sighed with relief, also breathing heavily. "I think that's one of the most exhausting courses I've ever served."

Sierra rolled her eyes before nodding to the Flygon, not straining for breath like the other two. Mile stood off to the side, observing what was happening.

Sierra called to her Flygon, "Now!" Her Flygon began to beat its wings with vigor, excited. It then flew into the air, steadily gaining altitude, before diving down at an astonishing speed, It slammed into the ground, using a powerful Earthquake move and causing the darker patch of ground to shudder before falling into the ground, revealing steps made out of earth that led down to a dark passage. Sierra smirked at her compatriots.

"Shall we go on now?"

Iris sighed. "I could use some water."

Cilan nodded. "That sounds like a great idea!"

Sierra sighed. "Everyone knows you need to bring a lot of water on a trip to the desert." She pointed to her pack, which had several bottles of water hanging out from karabiner clips. She sighed with frustration. "This is Mesoa! This could be the toughest adventure of your lives. You need to be prepared for this. This is no time to be naïve!"

Iris glared at her. "Hey! I'm not a kid! I don't need to be told what to do out here! I can handle myself very well out here." Cilan slowly backed away, feeling an argument coming on. Mike just shook his head in distaste.

Sierra scoffed at her. "You wouldn't survive here without my guidance. You know basically nothing of the Mesoa region, and you haven't been pulling your weight as a member of this team!"

Iris' eyes looked like they were aglow with a raging inferno. "And just how can you determine that? Who put you in charge?"

Sierra smirked. "I've been in charge of this team since we started!"

Iris glared at her. "I challenge you to a battle, then! For leadership of this team!"

Sierra shook her head. "I don't need to battle you to know I make a better leader than you'll ever be!"

Mike then walked over to stand between the two, holding a hand out in both directions. He shook his head, as if to say, "That's enough."

Iris and Sierra still gave each other death glares before turning away from each other, arms crossed.

Cilan sweatdropped. "Well, that didn't exactly go as planned."

As soon as his sentence finished, the ground started shaking. Mike just stood there, unaffected, but the others fell to the ground from the gigantic vibrations.

After a few seconds, Iris shouted, "What's going on?"

Sierra shrugged, confused. Mike pointed towards Sierra's Flygon, who seemed to be focused on something, shaking in what seemed to be fear. A stentorian roar resounded all across the desert and the Flygon cringed. As soon as the roar stopped, the ground appeared to burst open at the seams, flooding the area with what looked like hundreds of Pokémon from the Trapinch evolutionary line. There were even a few Shiny Trapinch, Vibrava, and Flygon among the group.

Sierra, noticing a territorial dispute when she saw one, ordered an attack.

"Flygon, use Hyper Beam!"

The Spirit of the Desert launched a beam of orange heat and power at the enemy Pokémon, but the Vibrava and Trapinch, working together, used a combination Earth Power, Dragonbreath, and Hyper Beam, to bring it down.

Iris stared at this in shock. She couldn't bear to see a dragon Pokémon in harm.

She then noticed that Flygon and Vibrava were moving aside near the back of the group, as if to let something pass unharmed.

Sierra looked at them, her eyes narrowing, and said, "I believe we're about to meet their leader."

Iris nodded and turned back to the group, seeing the Flygon that was currently imprisoned within a mass Sand Tomb began to whimper from the pain and glared fiercely at the group of enemies. The group eventually split down the center, which revealed a group of Flygons of a different color; a few different Shiny Flygons all hovered around one; the ring leader, so to speak. Sierra stared in shock, saying, "Each of those Shinies has a 0.00012 percent chance of appearing. And there are quite a few of them in this colony."

Iris nodded. "But I thought the only Dragons in this region were in Dragon Valley."

Sierra shook her head. "Some of the Dragons are special cases. They live in their home environment, preferring it over the fighting and territorial rivalry of Dragon Valley. I assume they made their home underground, only ascending to the surface after my Flygon appeared."

Iris nodded in realization. "Was this Flygon banished or something? Is that why they're so opposed to its presence here?"

Sierra shrugged. "I'm not sure. I caught her as a Vibrava, but I suppose we'll find out."

The two girls watched as the small group of Shiny Flygon dissipated, revealing a figure, at which all the gathered dragons roared. Sierra's Flygon began to struggle in its bonds, showing a highly unusual combination of fright and bloodlust. The shadowed figure, after a few seconds, flew out into the open.

Both girls gasped in surprise as they saw a Flygon that was not only bulkier than the rest and twice as agile, but bore a color scheme that was neither regular nor Shiny.

Iris, in particular, stared in awe and amazement at the oddly colored Flygon. She saw it had an orange body with dark green stripes and horns, with cobalt blue eye coverings and outlines on its wings.

Sierra was also amazed, and said, "I... I've never seen a Mesoic Shiny up close before."

Iris blinked in a bewildered look, still gazing at the Flygon. "Mesoic... Shiny?"

Sierra nodded. "Yes. They're eight times as rare as normal Shiny Pokémon and look really amazing. Not to mention how much stronger they are."

Iris nodded in agreement. The Mesoic Flygon flew over to Sierra's Flygon and glared at it. It began to hover around it, which then decided to act and charged a Hyper Beam between its jaws.

The Mesoic Flygon slammed its feet into the ground, which started to glow green. The Hyper Beam appeared to be fully charged when vines burst out of the ground and absorbed the fully charged Hyper Beam, taking the energy for itself.

Sierra blinked in shock. "I've never seen Giga Drain used like that before."

Iris nodded, still amazed by the Flygon. She saw the Mesoic Flygon and Sierra's Flygon glaring daggers at each other and her eyes opened in realization. "I know what happened."

Sierra looked at her, confused. "What, then?"

Iris sighed. "Your Flygon and that one…were siblings. They fought over who would lead the tribe... and yours lost." She looked at her Flygon and saw that one of its legs was injured. "They knew that she had returned because of its limp."

Sierra blinked in surprise. "Wow. I'm impressed you were able to determine all that."

Iris smirked. "It was nothing, really." The other Flygon broke out of the Sand Tomb, and the Mesoic Flygon glared at it. They both charged Dragon Claws and flew at each other, the crowd of their evolution family just watching on the sidelines. Iris was appalled at first. However, as the battle continued and the crowd just watched intently, Iris realized that they probably just let the two decide for themselves over leadership.

The Two Flygons fought first with Dragon Claw, fighting and slashing as if it were a martial art. After a while, the other Flygon began to charge up a SolarBeam while still using Dragon Claw. The Mesoic Flygon retaliated by charging a multicolored beam between its hands. Sierra's Flygon fired off the SolarBeam after a few seconds, while the Mesoic Flygon fired off a similar beam of energy, which collided with the SolarBeam, causing a powerful explosion, covering the area in a sandstorm.

Iris' eyes widened. _'That was a Signal Beam, and an extremely powerful one, too!'_

The Mesoic Flygon flew out of the cloud of sand as most of the members of its tribe, as well as Sierra, Cilan, and Mike, retreated to a safe distance to watch. Iris, however, was too engrossed in the battle to notice.

Cilan was about to run over to Iris, to get her to their shelter, when Mike raised his arm, stopping him.

Cilan looked at him like he was crazy and said, "What are you doing? We should get her over here with us!"

Sierra sighed before saying, "I hate to agree with him, but he's right. She's a member of our team and we should get her over here."

Mike shook his head and spoke to Sierra, whispering, "I believe she's meant to be there."

Cilan sweatdropped and said, "How does that even make any sense?" Sierra saw the Mesoic Flygon being attacked by a... Garchomp?

Sierra pointed and said, "Look!"

Her shout reached Iris at the same time she noticed, and she saw the Mesoic Flygon being taken down by a group of several Garchomp, followed by Gabite and Gible. The vast groups of Vibrava and Trapinch were already busy trying to deal with the Gible and Gabite. Most of the Flygon were fighting the group of unexpected guests while Sierra's Flygon was hovering above them all, smirking. All the Garchomp each fired off a Draco Meteor, hitting one of the Shiny Flygon and knocking them out as well. Sierra's Flygon roared in triumph at the Mesoic Flygon, who only growled in persistence. The group of Garchomp charged a Dragon Claw on all of their claws, which would severely wound it, at least.

Sierra sighed and said, "The Garchomp family was always against the Flygon in this area, although I've never seen them act so rabid."

Iris gasped at this change of events, and she wanted to defend the Flygon who had been so unrightfully ganged up on. She sighed and said, "Go, Dragonite!"

Iris' Dragonite appeared out of its Poke Ball, glaring at her before seeing the swarm of Garchomp. It immediately fired an ice beam at several of the Garchomps, which prompted them to dodge. Three of them charged at Dragonite with Dragon Rush. Two of them charged directly at Dragonite, forcing it to dodge. However, it didn't notice the third one above it, and was slammed into the ground. Dragonite managed to get up, though it was sporting a lot of cuts and bruises. Deciding to retaliate, it charged at the Garchomp that slammed it to the ground with speed that took the enemy off guard, and used its own Dragon Rush, followed by a Fire Punch and Ice Beam that rendered the Garchomp unconscious. The other Garchomp were ready to charge at Dragonite, but were blind-sided by Flygon who were using Dragon Claw, and they began their own battle.

The other Flygon glared at Iris, recognizing her as Dragonite's trainer. It immediately charged a Dragon Pulse, throwing it a little above Dragonite. Although Dragonite braced itself for impact, it flew over it and zoomed towards Iris. Iris screamed in pure terror, covering herself with her hands, bracing herself for the powerful blast.

Cilan, and Sierra especially, were aghast at the cruelty of her Flygon, attacking its opponent's trainer. Mike closed his eyes and bowed his head, afraid of what was going to happen.

However, Iris did not feel pain, and her eyes widened at the Mesoic Flygon blocking the Dragon Pulse by using Dragon Tail to hit it like a baseball at twice the speed its opponent threw it. Sierra's Flygon was in shock as it was hit by both its own Dragon Pulse as well as an Ice Beam from Dragonite, knocking it out immediately. Sierra sighed.

"Well, there goes our chance of getting through here."

A man stepped out from the sandstorm, glaring angrily at Iris. "Do you realize what you've done?" The strange man asked. "You've allowed the Flygon take control of this desert. The Garchomp family was the only chance we had, but now the Flygon will continue to expand from there!" He angrily pulled out eight Pokeballs and returned some members of the Garchomp family that had appeared. "They will take over this entire region, all because you have let them have this victory here!" He walked up to Iris and slapped her in the face, angering Dragonite and the rest of her team.

Iris stepped back, clearly alarmed and shocked. The Mesoic Shiny Flygon hovered up protectively in front of Iris, glaring at the man. He appeared to speak to the man, causing his face to flush redder and redder.

Iris smirked and said, "I think he said that if you don't get out of here now, he'll blast you to the Hoenn Region. He can govern this group well enough that they'll never get past the limits of the desert."

The man angrily glared at her and walked away. "You'll regret this, I tell you!" Before he could disappear, a large, diagonal, gash suddenly appeared on his back. Cilan and Iris looked towards the Pokemon, but they weren't the culprit.

Sierra did know who it was though, and looked towards Mike, whose arm was positioned the _same exact _way as the gash, with eyes so wide, they threatened to pop out of their sockets.

Iris shook her head. "Raving Lunatic."

The Mesoic Shiny Flygon nodded its assent before flying off towards its companions and using what appeared to be Giga Drain in reverse, healing up the Flygon, Vibrava, and Trapinch which proceeded to use Recover to heal their brethren. Before long, the entire clan was standing before us. The Mesoic Flygon then flew all around one of the Shiny Flygons, taking off what appeared to be an ornament from his head and placing it on the Shiny Flygon's head, causing the entire crowd to cheer in their respective calls.

Sierra looked on in awe as Cilan raised an eyebrow, confused. "What, exactly, is this new flavor?" He asked.

Sierra smirked. "I believe we've just seen a change in leadership."

The Mesoic Flygon then bowed to him, as did all the other members of the Flygon evolutionary chain. Iris was still awestruck at the Mesoic Flygon's presence and leadership, as well as his battling prowess.

She was even more surprised when the Mesoic Flygon hovered over to her, looking at Dragonite first, then at her. Iris appeared to understand, and said, "You... you want to come with me on our journey?"

The Mesoic Flygon nodded, and Iris grinned widely, her heart filled with joy at the amazing Pokémon she had befriended. She held out a Premier Ball, which she was saving for one of her best Pokémon. The Mesoic Flygon smiled and tapped the Premier Ball with its head, causing the rare Pokémon to be sucked into it. The Premier Ball fell to the ground, shaking once, twice, thrice, before stars emitted from it, indicating a capture.

Iris smiled and held the Premier Ball up high, indicating her newfound ally. "Alright! I caught... a Mesoic Flygon!"

Dragonite smirked before using its wings to shield itself from the sandstorm. Iris sighed. "You did great, Dragonite. Return!" The Dragon Pokémon nodded before willingly going into the Pokeball, a sign that it was actually starting to trust Iris.

Sierra, Cilan, and Mike ran up to her. Sierra and Cilan asked, "What happened?" and "Are you alright?" Mike merely raised an eyebrow.

Iris smiled. "I captured a Mesoic Shiny Flygon!"

Sierra smiled. "Awesome!"

Cilan nodded. "A truly inspiring spice to add to the already flavorful dish of your Pokemon team."

Iris, however, started to see spots, and sighed as her head started to swim in dizziness. "Does... anyone... have any water?"

Sierra nodded. "I have a spare in my pack. Why?"

Iris' eyes started to feel heavy as she slowly spoke, "I would... like that..."

After a few seconds, Iris faded into unconsciousness, falling onto the sand. Sierra sighed. "Mike, do you carry any smelling salts with you?"

Mike shrugged. "I'll check." was his reply. Sierra decided to tag along, to ask a few questions

Once out of earshot, she decided to investigate into what Michael had done, starting with the simple question; "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you attack him like that?"

"He deserved it. Besides, you would've done the same."

"Yeah, but with my fists, not with my…tell me you used a weapon."

"Sort of."

"What does sort of mean? If you're telling me you used Aerokinesis…"

"If I had used one of my concealed weapons, everyone would have focused on me, and they would pester me about it."

"Seemed better to tell them you can use weapons rather than manipulate wind. Besides, you're already dressed for the part. If they couldn't have figured it out just by the look, then they're more ignorant than I first thought."

"But I wasn't caught. I'm not Ginji."

"Sure as hell acted like him there. Look, all I'm saying is that take a little caution before you do that in front of them again. I'm not really in the mood to explain about kinetics, I'm sure you aren't either."

Mike just nodded his head

"Alright, now let's get back. I found a smelling salt in your bag while we were talking."

As the two came back, Cilan could only sigh. "This was not how I planned this day to go at all."

* * *

Paul sighed as he trudged onward, hoping to find a town where they could do something, anything at all. He hadn't found any exceedingly powerful Pokémon, which was a major disappointment to him. He did treat his Pokémon better, but most of the old attitude still stuck to him.

Zoey was trying to think up strategies for the next Contest while Ari and Jack were in a heated debate over battle strategy and its importance. Paul just sighed; it had been this way ever since they were teleported in the middle of the road.

After a few more hours of this, Paul was struggling to keep a calm demeanor. The monotony of it all was just getting to him. He turned around, his arms crossed.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't desert you all."

Ari and Jack were too busy talking to notice, but Zoey snapped out of her reverie.

She sighed as she said, "If you leave our team, you'll have to face teams of four powerful trainers on your own, with 48 Pokémon against 12. It just doesn't check out."

Paul sighed. "I could take on a lot of them on my own."

Ari, who had apparently been listening, said, "There's no way you could! I mean, there are really powerful trainers here like Tobias and this Shadow Dragon guy! There's no possible future where you beat 48 Pokémon with just your team of twelve Pokémon."

Paul huffed and turned away. "Whatever." He muttered. He had to admit that Tobias' team would be _exceedingly _difficult to deal with, just because of the Darkrai and Latios alone. While he reflected on that, he couldn't help but wonder what other Pokémon he had.

Zoey sighed. "Even if you were to win the Mesoa League,"

"Which I will." Paul interrupted while being interrupted from his thought, frustrating Zoey before she continued,

"You'd only win once. If we work as a team, we at least have a chance of winning both the Mesoa League and the Grand Festival."

Paul shook his head and turned away. Jack remarked, "She has a point. It would be near legendary to win both the Mesoa League and the Mesoan Grand Festival!"

Paul finally sighed, reluctantly admitting defeat. "Fine, but if you ever give me any reason to drop out on you, I will." He grunted and turned away from the group, continuing the monotonous trudge towards, hopefully, a town.

Zoey merely sighed, sweatdropping before following after him. Ari and Jack both gave Paul scathing looks before following after the other team members, waiting a few minutes before resuming their discussion.

* * *

Paul smirked. "It's been a few days, but we're finally here."

Zoey, Ari, and Jack finally caught up to him to see that they were, indeed, above a beautiful city with orange-and white buildings.

Ari and Jack high-fived while Zoey appeared to be lost in thought.

A few minutes later, she asked. "Why is it that whenever people reach a new city, they're always on a hill or another high place and they stare, in awe, at the new city's grandeur?"

Paul raised an eyebrow. "Who cares? The only thing that matters is where we can earn a badge."

Zoey crossed her arms, an irritated look in her eyes. "Real team player there." She muttered under her breath

Paul glared at her, meaning he heard. "What do you mean by that?!"

Zoey looked at the map she was given and pointed out a city that looked similar to the one that they had reached. "Well, according to this map, we've just reached Kiranus City, which is without a Gym. They do, however, have a Contest Hall."

Paul shook his head in annoyance. "I don't care much for Contests."

Zoey was angry at Paul at this point. "Contests are an art, and are harder to win than gym battles. That's why we have to win five ribbons, while you have eight gym badges in comparison."

Paul sighed. "Whatever. Just go to your contest, then. I don't even care about them at all, anyways."

Zoey glared at him, now actually angry. "Fine! Just don't go! I'll go there myself and see if they have a contest this week!"

Paul grunted and walked away. Ari looked towards Zoey with a fearful expression. "Oh great, there goes 25% of our team!"

Jack sighed. "I'll go after him, and you two should go see if there's going to be a contest."

Ari shook his head. "Why split up? Paul's going to return, right?"

Zoey sighed. "After the argument we had a few days ago, I doubt it."

Jack frowned. "I'll just go after him, alright?"

Ari reluctantly nodded. "Alright. See you back soon, hopefully."

Jack nodded before dashing off in the direction Paul stormed off. Zoey nodded before motioning Ari to follow her towards the city's contest hall, which he did a few seconds later.

* * *

Zoey walked into the contest hall, pausing as she saw a girl wearing a golden dress, waiting to register for the contest. Zoey looked at her oddly. "Are you going to register for the contest?"

The girl turned around and nodded, revealing silver eyes and wisps of red in her hair. She smirked. "Indeed I am. My name is Uruma, and I'm going to win this contest. Of course, I'm not in the Mesoa League, but that doesn't stop me from competing."

Zoey blinked at Uruma in confusion. "O… kay... So, the contest is tomorrow, right?"

Uruma nodded. "Be prepared to lose."

Zoey shook her head. "I like to go into my Contests with an optimistic attitude, because I have a chance of winning every single one."

Uruma scoffed. "That's extremely unrealistic."

Zoey sighed. "It works for me."

Uruma rolled her eyes. "Fine. Come tomorrow, we'll see who the better coordinator is."

Zoey nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me."

Uruma was soon out of the way, as she registered for the contest. Zoey went up to the registration counter, where a man was waiting for her. He nodded, smiling. "May I assume that you're registering for the Kiranus City Pokémon contest?"

Zoey nodded. The man continued, "Great! Any coordinator can help out." He sighed. "We haven't had much traffic since the Mesoa League started up, since my daughter, Uruma, usually wins."

Zoey blinked in surprise, finally noticing the man's silver eyes and reddish-brown hair. "Well, we're a team in the Mesoa League, and I'm going to sign up for this contest."

The man smiled. "Great! Your name is Zoey, right? You won the Sinnoh Grand Festival a couple years back."

Zoey nodded, still surprised. "How... how did you know?"

The man smiled. "Uruma enjoys watching contests, even if they're from other regions." He sighed. "Many people have adapted to the worldview of hating the other regions, but I go against that, insisting on giving everyone a chance."

Zoey smiled. "Thank you, sir."

The man owed his head. "It's my pleasure... and please, call me Midas."

Zoey nodded to Midas. "Thank you for letting us register for the contest."

Midas looked at her strangely. "Us? I only see you."

Zoey looked around before coming to the conclusion that Ari had probably followed Jack after Paul, and she sighed. "My teammate probably went to help someone else."

Midas nodded before typing on a computer. "You're all set. I'm looking forward to your performance tomorrow."

Zoey smiled. "Thank you, Midas."

Midas nodded his head in acknowledgement and motioned for the next participant to register, as Zoey walked away in search of Ari.

* * *

The next day arrived all too quickly, and none of her teammates appeared to her at all. Fortunately, Midas had offered to provide her team with hotel accommodations free of charge, and she simply couldn't refuse that deal.

Either way, she was dressed in attire that was similar to her grand festival clothes, except redone in shades of indigo and blue. After all, it was her Mesoa debut; she had to make this one of her best contests.

Since no one, not even Ari, had reappeared, she walked by herself to the contest hall.

Midas was there, waiting for contestants to arrive. There were a few assorted coordinators, both guys and girls. However, the one that she recognized was Uruma, who was wearing golden sweatpants, a black shirt, and a golden jacket over it, and a red headband in her hair. She then noticed that Uruma was the only trainer there in casual clothes.

Zoey walked over to her, asking, "Are you making a fashion statement or something?"

Uruma chuckled and turned around, already recognizing the voice. "You don't need to have fancy clothes to win a contest... but I thought you would have known that already."

Zoey frowned. "I know that... I was just curious." She sighed. "Look, I think we started off badly. My name is Zoey, by the way."

Uruma nodded. "I know who you are... and that's exactly why I'm going to beat you down."

Zoey smirked. "We'll see about that."

Uruma scoffed and walked away. Another coordinator walked up to her, smirking. "That dress looks terrible, you know."

Zoey jumped before frowning in shock. "Why do you say that?"

The coordinator chuckled to himself. "Because it just doesn't fit you."

Zoey glared at the guy. "What would, then?"

The guy mused to himself. "Nothing. Nothing at all." The smirk on his face kinda creeped Zoey out, and she moved away from him slowly, only to crash into another guy, who looked like a Machamp that had too much Protein. His glare, combined with his gargantuan size, scared the living hell out of Zoey as he said,  
"What's the big idea?"

Zoey pointed to the guy from earlier, who was musing to himself. "I was trying to get away from him."

The big guy chuckled. "Oh, him? We all stay away from him, frankly. My name is Garrett; it's a pleasure."

Zoey nodded. "I'm Zoey."

Garrett chuckled. "This is your first time in Kiranus City, right? I hope your run-ins with Uruma and Cysero haven't ruined your view of the city."

Zoey merely shrugged. "They just have different natures. Uruma just seems accustomed to winning and ambitious as well, because she hasn't had time to go to the Mesoa League yet. Cysero is just... creepy."

Garrett nodded. "That makes perfect sense." He then sighed as he looked at his Poketch. "Well, it's almost time for the Pokémon Contest to start. I guess I'll see you there." He waved a hand before walking towards where the other contestants were gathered.

Zoey nodded before walking over to the conglomeration of coordinators. _"This should be an amazing contest," _Zoey thought, _"And I'm going to win!"_

"Welcome to the Kiranus City Pokémon Contest! I'm your host, Marilyn, and it's always a pleasure to have you as an audience!"

All who were watching erupted in screams of approval. As Zoey scanned the crowd, she couldn't see any of her team members, much less anyone else from the Mesoa League. She sighed to herself as the host continued.

"I will now be introducing our judges! As you well know, two of the judges in every contest remain the same while a resident judge takes the third spot! So, without further ado, our first judge, the Kiranus City Nurse Joy!"

She waved to the crowd, saying, "All Pokemon will remain healthy under my watch."

The host then said, "Our second judge is Kiranus City's Battle Master, Siryn Wylei!"

A woman with dark purple hair that curled perfectly into three 'tails' that slid down past her shoulders stood up. Her top was fairly low-cut, and was colored black with a white stripe down the center. She also wore a miniskirt, which was indigo and had golden stripes down the side. There were louder roars of approval and even a few wolf whistles from the crowd as she spoke out in a stentorian voice, saying,

"I have high expectations from this group of coordinators, and it's always a pleasure to have an exuberant crowd like you!"

She was applauded further as she sat down. Zoey raised an eyebrow and thought to herself, _"I've never heard of a 'Battle Master' in any contest before. Maybe it's just the Mesoan way."_

The host continued with, "And our resident judge this evening will be Midas Shaurum!"

Midas stepped up to the podium besides Siryn and smiled. He said, "I expect a great performance from each and every one of you! Best of luck to all of you!"

He was applauded even more than Siryn as he took his seat. Zoey smiled and surmised, _"He's got to be well-respected if he gets that much applause."_

The host went on to say, "As Mesoa contest rules dictate, each coordinator must first win a contest battle against the local Battle Master to advance to the appeal round, where each will give a single performance. Each coordinator will be judged on their tactic, grace, and skill. If there are any ties, it will dissolve to a contest battle. The Pokémon each coordinator uses in their battle and the appeal may be different."

Needless to say, Zoey was shocked. _"This is completely unlike any of the other contests I've ever seen, much less participated in."_

The Battle Master, Siryn, stepped up to the stage, eliciting several cheers from the audience. She said, "Alright, all of you are going to have to face me before you can perform, so let's hope you're ready for a challenge!"

One of the guys in the group immediately yelled out, "I'll go first!"

She giggled. "Don't be fooled by my looks. They can be completely deceptive, you know."

The guy chuckled. "Any beautiful girl can't battle; everyone knows that! Go, Flareon!"

The Flame Pokémon appeared in the battlefield, standing before yowling at Siryn, who chuckled.

"Interesting choice... But can it beat... Quetzlpter?"

She sent out the fiery dragon-bird that Zoey had only seen once before; in the Mesoa Champion battle, and she was awed by this one's luster and beauty.

The boy with the Flareon paled. "I have to beat... That?"

Siryn nodded, a wide grin on her face.

"But of course. Now, Quetz, use Dragon Pulse!"

Quetzlpter fired a blast of draconic energy from its mouth that hit Flareon right in the face, causing an explosion. When the smoke had cleared, Flareon was out cold. Two red "X"es from the other judges later, the boy returned his Flareon and ran away faster than an Ursaring with a swarm of Beedrill on its tail.

Siryn merely smirked. "So, who's next?"

Several trainers went up, and all saw Uruma use an Altaria that was Shiny and Garrett use a Houndoom, and both had made it through. Even the creepy guy made it through with a Haunter. Both Uruma's and the creep's battles were completely in the air, which made a dazzling display of aerial tactics. Nurse Joy healed every trainer's Pokémon after every round, so it was fair.

Finally, it was Zoey's turn. The orange-haired trainer slowly walked up to the stage, the Pokeball with her choice in her right hand. Siryn smiled.

"You're in the Mesoa League, right?"

Zoey nodded. "Yeah. I'm not sure where the rest of my team is right now, but that doesn't mean I'll try to win my team's first ribbon!"

Siryn smiled, a twinkle in her eye. "That's the spirit! Quetz, I choose you!"

The fiery Pokémon appeared, fully refreshed by Nurse Joy, and gave out a great roar that immediately silenced the crowd.

Zoey nodded and threw her Pokeball. "Gallade, go!"

The Blade Pokémon appeared in a flurry of stars, brandishing its elbow blades.

Siryn sighed at Zoey's choice. "Aww... I was hoping for another aerial battle."

Zoey smirked. "Trust me, this won't be easy."

Siryn giggled. "I can't wait!"

The host smiled. "Battle, begin!"

Zoey immediately called out, "Use Vacuum Wave, Gallade!"

The Blade Pokémon nodded its head before spinning at a rapid pace, charging its blades with energy. The result was a tornado that flew at QuetzlPter.

Siryn smirked. "Dodge and use Dragon Pulse!"

The fiery bird dodged the twister before firing a blue orb of energy from its mouth. Zoey smirked.

"Knock it back with Psycho Cut!"

As soon as the ball of energy was about to strike Zoey's Pokémon, Gallade hit it back by charging its blades with psychic energy, throwing the Dragon Pulse back at an astounding velocity. Gallade then went on to fire several Psychic projectiles.

Siryn reacted quickly.

"Use Fiery Dance!"

Quetzlpter covered itself in flames and rushed at the flurry of attacks, rushing through them, although he was slightly damaged by the Psycho Cuts. Unfortunately, he accumulated the Dragon Pulse into his attack, creating a Draconic, blazing fury.

Zoey's eyes widened. "Quick, Vacuum Wave!"

Gallade spun around quickly, creating a tornado. This time, the attack collided, knocking Quetzlpter backwards.

Quetzlpter didn't even look tired, which frustrated Zoey.

_"I have to win this, but it looks like it doesn't have even a scratch!"_

Gallade's glare at his opponent intensified, and he rushed up to Quetzlpter without instruction, surprising everyone.

Ari was frantically looking around, trying to find Jack and Paul, who had gone missing.

Then, Ari suddenly heard a familiar voice call out, "Honchkrow, use Steel Wing!"

Ari turned towards the sound of the voice, to see Jack frantically waving him towards Paul.

Ari ran over, and Jack sighed.

"I was wondering when you'd get here," he said, "Paul's a hopeless case!"

Ari looked at the battle, and saw that Paul, despite his powerful Pokémon, was currently losing to a trainer with a Volcarona.

The other trainer called out, "Use Fiery Dance!"

Enveloped in flames, the Volcarona smashed into Paul's Honchkrow, defeating it. Paul huffed and recalled his Pokémon before walking off.

The trainer raised an eyebrow. "Do I even get my prize money?" She shrugged before walking off.

Jack frowned. "I told you! His focus is off; he's been in this funk since I found him yesterday."

Ari nodded. "Let's just follow him."

Paul glared at the two of them, having heard everything.

"Stay away from me!"

Ari frowned. "Do you even know how Mesoa contests work?"

Paul raised an eyebrow. "They're different than the stupid performances?"

Ari facepalmed. "They have to defeat the city's Battle Master before they perform their appeals."

This caught Paul's attention, as his glare softened a bit. "Seriously? Mm… I guess it might be worthwhile after all."

He then started to walk at a leisurely pace towards the Contest Hall. Ari and Jack looked at each other, confused, before they both shrugged and followed him, striking up another conversation.

Gallade then began a series of punches and kicks, which gave Quetzlpter some major damage.

The host smiled. "That was a marvelous Close Combat!"

Zoey smirked. "A new move? Awesome!"

Siryn chuckled. "Impressive show of power... but we've got some powerful moves, too! Quetz, use Draco Meteor!"

The blazing dragon-bird roared fiercely before blasting a pulse of draconic energy high above the stadium, where it split into several meteors, which were all aimed at Gallade and falling fast.

Zoey gasped, unsure of what to do.

_"How am I supposed to counter that?"_

Gallade sighed, apparently flummoxed that it had to do everything on its own. It created a powerful green energy shield around itself, blocking out all the meteors and creating a radiant blue-green shine around himself.

Zoey was shocked before she recovered, smiling. "That was Protect! Great job, Gallade!"

Gallade shrugged before resuming its battle stance. Quetzlpter was starting to look worn out, and Siryn was starting to look worried. "Use Flamethrower!"

The dragon-bird redoubled its efforts, belching out a stream of flame.

Zoey smirked as she yelled, "Gallade! Counter it with Signal Beam!"

The Blade Pokémon nodded, firing off a multicolored beam of energy from its chest spike. The two attacks met, each pushing the other away, before the Signal Beam broke through the opponent's attack and knocked Quetzlpter back a bit, but it looked relatively unscathed from the attack.

Gallade sweatdropped as Zoey shrugged. "Well, it wasn't very effective, but this will be! Gallade, combine Vacuum Wave and Psycho Cut!"

Gallade smirked as it charged its blades with psionic energy before spinning around in circles, creating a purplish tornado with projectile blades twirling along with it.

Siryn smirked. "Now, this gets interesting! Quetzlpter, use Fiery Dance plus Dragon Pulse!"

Quetzlpter roared as it fired off a Dragon Pulse in midair, then covered itself with flames and flew through the draconic attack, covering itself with blue-and-red flames as it charged at the tornado that was aiming straight towards it.

Paul, Ari, and Jack walked through the doors of the hall just as the two attacks collided; creating a gigantic explosion that was accompanied by blue, red, purple, and white sparkles.

Paul blinked in surprise. "Well, that was... interesting."

When the smoke had cleared, Quetzlpter had fainted, revealing Zoey's Gallade little the worse for wear.

The host smiled and announced, "And Zoey makes it through to the appeal round! Joining her will be Uruma, Garrett, and Cysero! This concludes the first part of the Kiranus City Pokémon contest!"

Paul sighed and sat down in one of the seats. "What a scam."

Ari and Jack sweatdropped before sitting next to him, waiting for the contest to continue.

The host smiled. "We will now be moving to the appeal rounds. Be prepared for our first competitor, Uruma Shaurum!"

The golden-clad girl stepped out to the stage. She was heartily applauded by the entire crowd except for Paul, who was bored with the whole thing, and the two other members of Zoey's team, who were talking about contest battles and their difference from regular appeals.

Uruma called out, "Let's go, Volcarona!"

The fiery moth Pokémon appeared in a flurry of flames, with a small ring of stars around it. Unlike the one that Paul had been battling, though, this one had golden wings and light bluish undertones.

Ari was shocked. "That girl has a Shiny!"

Paul raised an eyebrow as Uruma started her performance.

"Use a combo of Fiery Dance and Quiver Dance!"

The Golden, sunlike Pokémon screeched and danced around, cloaked in flames and an odd, greenish energy.

"Now use Bug Buzz!"

The moth complied, vibrating its wings at high speed and releasing a wave of red energy, coated in the flames and energy from the Quiver Dance.

She smirked. "Now Psychic!"

Volcarona used psychic energy to manipulate the ring of energy to create several copies of itself, comprised of green, red, and fiery energy.

Uruma chuckled.

"Everybody, dance now!"

They all did a Quiver Dance as a strange music montage played in the background. The music was catchy, though, and people all started to dance, except for Paul, who was still bored.

Uruma giggled with glee at the reception she was getting. Even the judges were trying to dance.

By now, all the Volcarona copies had fluttered above the original.

"Alright, now use Hyper Beam!"

The dance music abruptly cut off and people sank back into their seats. Volcarona had charged its Hyper Beam attack and fired, blasting the copies in an explosion of multicolored sparkles that rained down, highlighting the shine of Volcarona's golden wings.

Everyone applauded, even Paul in his own way, which was shrugging and saying, "Not bad."

The appeals went on until it was Zoey's turn. She stepped up to the stage, her Pokémon of choice in hand.

"Let's go, Lumineon!"

The fish Pokémon appeared, and the stage opened to reveal a pool of water underneath. The Host grinned.

"We always keep a pool of water under the stage for aquatic appeals! Now show us what you've got!"

Zoey smirked. "Lumineon, Jump and use Aqua Ring!"

The Neon Pokémon jumped up and created three rings of water around itself, throwing them into the air. "Now, use Waterfall!"

The Neon Pokémon complied, throwing the Aqua Rings vertically, then coating itself in water and going through the rings, absorbing them and creating a powerful attack.

Zoey smirked. "Now use Silver Wind!"

Lumineon flapped its fins wildly, causing several blades of peridot-colored energy to cut the pillar of water in half.

Siryn smirked. "An impressive display of power!"

Zoey nodded. "Now use Aqua Ring and Silver Wind!"

Water and peridot-colored, bug-type energy swirled around Lumineon, creating a dazzling display.

"Now, Air Cutter!"

Blades of Air surged from Lumineon's fins, breaking the rings and creating a dazzling luminescence as she appeared to hover in the air before firing a Water Pulse earthward, creating a pillar of water for her to land on, a grin appearing on Zoey's face.

The judges applauded her performance. Ari and Jack cheered Zoey's excellent performance, as did the rest of the audience.

Paul shrugged, a hint of a smile appearing on his face. "Not half bad."

After several minutes, the host called out, "I now have the results of the appeal round!"

The crowd cheered as Paul huffed and said, "Took them long enough."

"We have an interesting case this time, because not only is this contest not finished yet, but we must have a contest battle to determine first place between Uruma and Zoey!"

This news was met with yet a louder uproar, which caused Paul to grimace and cover his ears.

"Yeesh. You'd think they'd lower their voices a few decibels."

The host continued, "For the record, Cysero got fourth and Garrett got third place!"

There was more applause heard from the audience.

The host nodded. "Now, let's continue with the proceedings! On my right is Uruma Shaurum, usually the winner of this city's Pokemon contest!"

There was applause as the golden-clad girl took the stage.

"And now, on the left side, is Zoey, competing in the Mesoa League!"

There was an encore of applause as Zoey stepped up to the podium.

The host smirked.

"This will be a one-Pokémon contest battle! Are both contestants ready?"

Uruma and Zoey nodded. Even from the audience, Ari, Jack, and Paul could feel the fire in their eyes.

"Three minutes on the clock; let's go!"

The time started as Uruma sent out her Pokémon.

"Let's go, Shedinja!"

The Shed Pokémon appeared, glowing with a golden light.

Midas smirked. "Wonder Guard is now active!"

Paul just shook his head. "Why would you choose a Pokémon that can basically take almost no attacks?"

Zoey sighed. "Let's go, Mismagius!"

The ghost-type Pokémon giggled eerily at its opponent.

Uruma smirked. "I'll start off this match! Shedinja, use Shadow Sneak!"

Shedinja's shadow started to expand, as if it could have hit Mismagius.

Zoey smirked.

"Use Thunder Wave!"

Mismagius let out a burst of electricity from the red crystal on its chest, creating a barrier. Just as Shedinja's shadow rose out of the ground and was about to strike, Mismagius turned around, and the shadow lurched backwards, covered with electricity, tracing itself back to Shedinja. Uruma smirked, as Shedinja was encased in a golden light, and the electricity merely flowed around the barrier, encasing the bug-ghost hybrid in a shine.

Nurse Joy clapped her hands together. "Simply marvelous!"

Both coordinators' points went down, but Zoey's a bit more so.

Zoey frowned. "Now use Shadow Ball!"

Mismagius quickly created an orb of ethereal energy and fired it at Shedinja, whose golden glow faded.

Uruma scowled at her. "Counter it with your own!"

Zoey smirked. "Counter her counter with a Psywave!"

Mismagius called out its name as it sent out five glowing tendrils of Psychic energy.

Uruma's scowl intensified to the point where you could literally see the sparks flying out of her eyes from her gaze of fury.

"Use Dig!"

Shedinja dove underground , digging its way out of danger as the Shadow Balls exploded, leaving a field of sparkling, astral energy in their wake.

Both coordinators' points went down again, so they were about evenly matched.

Zoey smirked. "You've just dug your own grave! Mismagius, use Shadow Ball and use Psywave to throw it down the hole!"

Uruma was taken back. "What?!"

Mismagius chuckled as it fired off another Shadow Ball, then used Psywave to throw it at high speed into the hole Shedinja had dug. The Pokémon's call was heard once as Shadow Ball exploded. When the smoke cleared, Shedinja was unconscious.

The host smiled as she confirmed, "And the winner of the Kiranus City Pokemon Contest is Zoey!"

Uruma's eyes widened and she stepped back in shock. "Bu... but... h... how?"

Zoey smirked as she returned her Pokemon.

"Shedinja, while having the marvelous ability of Wonder Guard, can't take any hits."

Uruma sighed as she returned her Pokemon.

"Well played; well done."

She walked to the middle of the stage for a handshake. Zoey met her in the center of the stadium and completed the gesture, leaving both girls smiling.

Midas, the guest judge, stepped up to the podium.

"It is my pleasure to award Zoey, a Mesoa League competitor, her team's first ribbon; the Kiranus City ribbon!"

Zoey smiled as she accepted the ribbon, which was orange with a gold trim, and held it up for all to see, which brought up another round of applause from everyone, even Uruma.

Paul sighed and said, "One down, four to go."

He then left the stadium, causing Ari and Jack, once they were done cheering for their teammate, to sweatdrop and run after him.

Zoey sighed, as she could see this even from the stage.

_"Just another average day for my team," _she thought.

* * *

Team 7, consisting of Alex, Chase, Jen Triando, and Tim Commandan, were in a bit of a situation. Right now, they were outside of Árbol Village, which was basically White Forest and Arborville, together, on a much larger scale, as well as a home to a grass type gym.

The village was surrounded by a set of security towers setup with a set of spotlights that did a total 360 degree turn, which were set up in a 360 degree style around the village. Below the towers were a set of guards and Pokémon, armed and prepared to defend, which was the main problem trying to gain entry into the village, the tight security. While proper identification would work most of the time, it wouldn't work now. For Team 7 to get in, they would have to battle their way in.

"Why do we have to do this again? I thought presenting I.D would be enough." Alex said

"I guess it's because they want to test our skills and see if we're "good enough" for the Mesoa League." Chase replied

"We'll just have to prove it to them then!" Jen said enthusiastically. Tim just smiled and nodded at his girlfriend's enthusiasm.

"Since you're determined to gain entry, three of you will have to battle three of us in three 1-on-1 battles. You'll only have to win 2-out-of-3 of the battles to gain entry. Lose two, and you'll be denied entry and will have to wait a full week until you can try again." A guard explained

"Great, no pressure there." Alex muttered

* * *

Team 7 stood on one end of the battlefield while four other guards stood on the other end

"Since it's ladies first, how's about you and me battle first." A female guard said, pointing to Jen

"Sure, I don't mind, and I hope you don't mind this: Help me out, Pidgeot!"

A large, tan bird with a cream belly appeared from a pokeball. It also had sharp talons and pink feet, with yellow and pink plumage that reached down towards its tail feathers.

"No problem. Graptor, attack to win!"

The female guard's pokeball released a raptor-like Pokémon that had vine like veins spread in its body, from the start of the neck, to the base of the tail, to where the beginning of the abdomen was. Its eyes were yellow with vertical, black slits in them. At the end of the tail was a three sided leaf with small holes in it. Its hand, while longer than a regular raptor's were, still only had two claws. Its feet were also akin to an actual raptor's, having three claws on each foot.

Jen, curious about the new Pokémon, decided to scan it with her pokedex.

"_Graptor, the Grass Dino Pokémon. Graptor is a Grass and Dragon type. Using its powerful legs, it can reach speeds of over 80 mph in less than 5 seconds to chase prey and enemies. Its jaws are powerful enough to break a tree apart at its base." _The female computerized voice explained

Everyone on the team couldn't help but whistle at its stats. Speed and Power seemed to be its main points, though it seemed a little low in Special Defense stats. Despite the setback, it was definitely a powerful Pokémon.

'_I shouldn't have sent out the first Pokémon. I could've used Froslass instead.' _Jen thought, cursing her mistake. While Flying types held an advantage over Grass types, Froslass could've done double the damage.

"Since you sent out the first Pokémon, I'm calling the first attack. Graptor, use Dragon Claw!"

Graptor charged at the bird, claws glowing a turquoise color.

"Pidgeot, dodge and use Quick Attack!"

Pidgeot managed to dodge and charged at Graptor in a burst of fast speed

"Catch it!"

Graptor managed to do just that, and caught Pidgeot at the wings. Graptor wasn't even moved back, Pidgeot was stuck in its grip

"I can't believe that Graptor managed to catch Pidgeot like that!" Alex exclaimed

"It's clear that the guards train their Pokémon seriously." Chase said

"All that still doesn't mean Jen doesn't stand a chance." Tim replied, defending his girlfriend

"She'll definitely have a tough time though." Replied Alex

"Now use Dragon Tail!"

Graptor's tail glowed the same color as its claws did, and slammed into Pidgeot, sending it into the ground

"Quick, use Dragon Tail once more!"

Get out of the way! Use Mirror Move!"

Pidgeot managed to get into the air in time and a portal appeared in front of it. From the portal came a turquoise tendril that caught Graptor off guard and slammed into it.

"Now use Sky Attack!"

"Use Foliage Fang!"

Jen, not knowing what to expect, just had Pidgeot go towards the grass dinosaur, and crashed into it, kicking up a lot of dust. After it cleared, it showed both Pokémon injured, but Graptor was somehow less injured than expected. It looked like it was barely hit. Pidgeot meanwhile looked a lot worse than expected

"But…how?" Jen asked, which was also on all of their minds

"Foliage Fang is a move that works like Giga Drain in the sense that once the user bites down, it drains energy from the target. It's like how bats and vampires feed." The female guard explained

'_Hmm…' _Jen thought, forming a plan

"It's time to end this. Graptor, use Dragon Rush!"

Graptor jumped into the air, where it was cloaked in energy shaped like a dragon, and charged at Pidgeot

"Use Agility, then Roost!"

Pidgeot barely dodged the charging opponent, and began to heal itself

"Don't give it a moment to recover. Again!"

Graptor charged again at the bird

"Mirror Move!"

The same portal appeared, and cloaked Pidgeot in the same energy as its opponent. Since Graptor was too close to dodge, the both of them collided, kicking up more dust.

"Giga Impact!"

Pidgeot emerged from the clouding, covered in purple and yellow energy, and slammed into Graptor, and slammed it into a tree, where its eyes turned in the infamous swirly style that signified a K.O.

"Graptor is unable to battle, the winner is Pidgeot. Round 1 goes to the challengers." The ref, one of the challenging guards, announced

At that, Chase and Alex were ecstatic at the news, while Tim was smiling at his girlfriend and her Pidgeot

"You did great Pidgeot. Take a good rest."

"You've done well, Graptor. Rest now."

Both girls simply smiled and nodded at each other and returned to their respective sides, where Chase and Alex congratulated her verbally, while her boyfriend kissed her on the cheek as his way of congratulating her on the battle.

The next set of battlers were Alex and a male guard, the ref for the previous battle.

"Since your Team claimed victory in the first round, you will choose first." The guard said, leaving no room for complaints

While Alex mentally groaned about it being a little unfair, he complied and sent out a Shiny Typhlosion

The guard's Pokémon was a dog with orange brown limbs, with cream colored fur on its face that formed a moustache with a blue colored pelt around its torso

"Herdier vs Typhlosion! Begin!" declared the first female guard

"Typhlosion, use Flamethrower!"

Typhlosion shot a large jet of fire from its mouth

"Dodge by using Dig!"

Herdier burrowed underground, dodging the Flamethrower

"Typhlosion, jump now!"

Typhlosion managed to jump a pretty considerable height. It might've worked with any other trainer, who would normally be right under, or near their opponent, but that was the opposite in this case

"Use Rain Dance, then Wild Charge!"

From the hole it dug, a large ball of water was shot to the sky, making it rain. Just after that, Herdier emerged from the hole, and went towards the now falling Typhlosion

"Use your own Wild Charge, and mix it with Mega Punch!"

"Mix your Wild Charge with Ice Fang!"

Both opponents, one surrounded by electricity and a silver sphere enveloping its fist and the other cloaked in electricity, its fangs frozen over had collided with each other, causing an explosion.

When the smoke cleared, it showed Typhlosion banged up, but still raring to go. Herdier…wasn't around. The Loyal Dog was no were to be seen, causing Alex and Typhlosion to look around for it. The second guard just smirked

"Now, use Giga Impact!"

Herdier emerged from the ground, catching both Alex and Typhlosion off guard, and tackled the latter right in the gut, sending it onto the ground, skidding towards its trainer

"But…when?"

"The Herdier your Typhlosion collided with was nothing more than a substitution the real thing created the second it burrowed into the ground." The guard explained "It's a common tactic around here."

Alex, meanwhile, seethed at the situation. Typhlosion took a lot of damage in the collision, and just now from one of the most powerful attacks while it was caught off guard. The only reason Herdier looked a little winded was because of the energy it took for the clone and the Giga Impact. Other than that, though, it didn't have a single scratch on it. Alex was going to have to think fast if he was to get out of this one. While this was going on, he realized two things:

1. It was raining still.

2. There was still only one hole in the ground

'_Perhaps…'_

"Typhlosion, use Thunderbolt!"

"Dodge it!"

Herdier dodged by jumping into the hole it made

"Aim it at the hole!"

"What?!"

The bolt of lightning was aimed into the single hole made from the dig, and shocked the dog like Pokémon since both it, and the ground, were completely soaking wet.

Herdier emerged from the ground, finally creating a second hole, but Alex was putting the next phase of his plan into action

"Use Mega Punch!"

Typhlosion's fist closed, surrounded by a silver ball of energy, socked the dog right in its face, skidding along the ground to the guard.

"Now use Wild Charge while before it can recover!"

"Get out of the way!"

Typhlosion was once more cloaked in electricity, and charged at the dog, still lying on the ground. It could react to its trainer's commands in time, and the attack made direct contact, causing another explosion.

When the smoke cleared, it showed Typhlosion was battered and bruised from the damage, but it was still standing. Herdier though, was completely scratched up, bruised all over, and had sparks coming off of its body. It also struggled to get up

"Come on, Herdier! Get up! It's not over yet!"

Herdier continued to struggle in its attempts to get up, but was having little to no success. It was starting to look like Team 7 would have its second victory

"Get up, Herdier! I know you can! I believe in you!"

That seemed to trigger something in the Loyal Dog, since it howled for a second before it was enveloped in a light blue light.

Suddenly, its body grew in side, and its moustache had grown larger and longer, coming down to the ground, and stretching to its back legs, looking more like plumes. When the light died away, it showed that it had blue on the inside of its ears, and the lower half of the blue fur on its torso was now gray.

"Stoooouuutland!"

Alex pulled out his Pokedex and scanned the Pokémon before him

"_Stoutland, the Big Hearted Pokémon. This intelligent Pokémon excels at saving people from mountains and blizzards. Its thick fur keeps it warm even in powerful blizzards."_

It was at that point that Alex realized it was no longer raining, and his opponents Pokémon had just evolved, its former injuries no longer looking like a burden.

Stoutland's trainer, also using Pokedex, saw that Stoutland had acquired a new move

"It's time to end this. Stoutland, use Last Resort!"

"Counter with Mega Punch!

A sphere of silver power and a body of gold energy and stars met head on, struggling for dominance. Then, another explosion.

When the smoke cleared, both were still standing. Then, not even a second later, Typhlosion fainted.

"Typhlosion is unable to battle. The winner is Stoutland, so Round 2 is ours!

"Typhlosion, return. You were awesome."

"Return, Stoutland, You did great out there."

As the battlers for Round 2 returned to their respective sides, Chase, and a second female guard stepped up to the battlefield.

"Don't think because you're a woman I'll go easy on you in this battle."

"Good, because it'll be your end. Burn em' up, Magmortar!"

The guard's Pokemon was humanoid with yellow and red stripes in the form of a flame-like pattern. Its arms took the form of cannons, and it had a duck bill for a mouth that seemed to be smiling. Its feet were red, with two clawed toes

"A Magmortar, huh? I've got just the thing! Show them your will, Electivire!"

Chase's Pokemon was humanoid with yellow fur and black stripes. It had five fingers on each hand, three toes on its feet, and red eyes. It had two antennae on its head, and a power circuit pattern on its back. It also lacked a neck

"Electivire vs. Magamortar! Battle begin!"

"Magmortar, start things off with Flamethrower!"

"Electivire, counter with Light Screen, then use ThunderPunch!"

A yellow screen formed around Electivire, blocking off the Flamethrower. Electivire then began charging at Magmortar with a fist surrounded by electricity.

"Meet it head-on with DynamicPunch!"

Magmortar's fist glowed a reddish-orange before it met the ThunderPunch head-on, causing them to struggle for dominance. After a short while, with no side giving an inch, an explosion occurred

When the smoke cleared, it showed neither side was harmed.

"Electivire, try using Thunder!"

"Eeelllectiviiiiree!" it shouted as a humongous stream of lighting shot from the antennae on its head towards its opponent.

"Use Flamethrower to counter!"

A jet of fire met with the stream of electricity, but the latter was stronger, so all it did was weaken it, but not by much. Magmortar got electrocuted.

"Maaaaaag!"

"Magmortar, no!"

"Now use Giga Impact!"

Electivire was surrounded in the familiar gold and purple energy and went towards Magmortar. (Un)fortunately, Magmortar had recovered and was prepared to counter-attack.

"Magmortar, use Protect, then use Psychic!"

A green shield of energy surrounded Magmortar, preventing all harm. When the Giga Impact died down and the Protect ended, Magmortar's eyes glowed blue, holding Electivire in place.

"Electivire, get out of there!"

"Slam it into the ground and use Earthquake! Then use Hyper Beam!"

Electivire was slammed into the ground, trapping it in the earth, preventing escape. Then, Magmortar stomped its foot on the ground, causing it to shake wildly. Then, the earth began breaking apart, sending rock fragments everywhere, and fissures all over the field, and the hole from the dig was filled up. Luckily, the damage was limited to the battlefield.

Magmortar's onslaught wasn't over yet, though. Its cannon-like arms were charging an orange-yellow ball of energy, and were ready to fire.

With Electivre, it was just getting up from the ground, signs of damage from the Earthquake were obvious, and it was clear that if the Hyper Beam made contact, it was all over. For some reason, electricity was circulating its body

"Electivire! Are you okay?!"

Electivire just nodded weakly, and acting on instinct, condensed the electricity on a single point on its tails, and formed a yellow ball of electricity, and fired at the now released Hyper Beam. It was forced to release early as to end the battle quickly, so it didn't have enough power to overcome the newly learned Electro Ball.

"Woah. Electivire learned Electro Ball? Awesome!"

Electivire let electricity dance around its body to show its happiness while it smiled with glee

"Electivire, let's end this with a Thunder-Ice-Fire punch combination with Giga Impact!"

"Magmortar, counter with a Dynamic-Fire Cross Chop* with Iron Flare Tail*" Both the guards and the members of Team 7 looked surprised for different reasons. The former because they knew that combo move was still in development, and the latter because of the move combinations that were being shown

Electivire's fist became surrounded in electricity, then fire, then ice, which began changing in rapid succession. It then charged at Magmortar, surrounded by a gold and purple energy. Magmortar crossed its arms, which were covered in reddish-orange energy surrounded by fire. It charged at Electivire surrounded by an intense blue fire, its tail covered by a metallic coating.

Both were an inch apart from making contact with each other, when it happened. The elements composing the attacks destabilized, causing them to explode.

The smoke cleared to show both Pokemon completely bruised, battered, exhausted, and lying on the floor,

"Since neither Pokemon are able to continue, the winner will be decided by whether or not their Pokemon can continue

"Come on Electivire! I know you can get up! We've come too far to quit now!"

"Magmortar, get up! We've almost one! I just need you to hold out for a little while longer!"

Both Pokemon woke up, and slowly but surely, began to stand up. After a few minutes, both were standing, but were in such bad shape that a feather could knock them down!

Magmortar and Electivire eyed one another, but the former went down after that, this time for good.

"Magmortar is unable to battle. The winner is Electivire, so victory goes to the team competing in the Mesoa League." the referee declared

"Alright! You got us in to town, Electivire, and learned a new move! Way to go!" Chase yelled excitedly as he hugged the Electivire, causing the latter to smile and let sparks dance on its antennae.

"Return, Magmortar. You did your best."

"Alright, Electivire. Return and get some rest. I'll have you healed up soon."

"Since you beat us 2-out-of-3, we'll show you to the Pokemon Center to get you accommodated.

"That would be nice. Thanks." Tim said

* * *

**Aaaand cut, print. That's a wrap on this chapter. Phew, finally done.**

**I know it's very late, but many things had factored into it. Writer's block, self-doubt, and a few others. But, no more. The story stays as it is. **

**These chapters featuring the teams are actually my own way of showing appreciation to those who submitted OCs for the competition. Hope you all appreciate it as much as I do, even if some do more than others. That'll change in the first tournament I feature.**

**Now, a few announcements**

**1. The two chapters, which were really the author's notes and announcements, will be deleted soon after I post this. Since they're not really that significant at this point, they're just taking up space at this point.**

**2. My penname will be changed to TheGhostOfSparta, something with Kratos, or something similar. I feel I should give you all a small heads up so none of you are confused and asking "Who is this guy?" or "Who the hell are you?" or anything like that**

**3. I've created a new poll to ask you "What draws you to a story?" Is it plot? Pairing(s)? More plot than pairing and vice versa? Let me know**

**Subscribe to me and this story for future updates. Favorite me and this story if you enjoy it. Leave concerns, comments in the review box or in a PM. No flames shall be tolerated (unless ****you feel offended about that whole shopkeeper accent. Indian, desert, mini convenience store thing. Again, I do not intend to offend anyone, and have no wish to start anything, so once again, I do apologize. But you have to admit the real Pokemon would've done **_**something **_**similar)**

**So, I'm A.M.P 1008, soon to be TheGhostOfSparta, signing out!**


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